Me: My house has three computers. One belongs to my mother, and if I laid a finger on it, I'd be grounded till I'm thirty. The second is my computer. Now, my mother is teaching a computer class, and she comes up short a computer. So, she thinks, why don't I use my daughter's? The other is a family computer, on which I can spend a grand total of two minutes.
So, I apologize that I took more than three weeks to write the story, type it up on the computer, and upload it on to fanfiction. Two minutes at a time. Easier said than done. However, I know have my computer back, finals are over, and I will begin to update regularly. However, I am also working on Weakness. You have been warned.
"Hey, Joan! Could you give me a hand with this?"
Joan looked up from her paperwork at the sound of her name. "Uh…Sure! Just a second!" she called, hurriedly sorting the remaining files in front of her.
"Take your time," the voice called. "I'm in Johnny's room."
"Alright, I'm coming!" Joan answered, already heading down the hall. She frowned in confusion as she entered the dim room. "Why are the lights off?" she asked.
The nurse who'd called her, a young koala, sighed wearily, her eyes fixed on the two children near the wall. "It's another one of Sasha's ideas. She thinks he'll feel safer in the darkness or something." She turned to Joan. "You're good with kids, right? I've been trying to get her to leave for the past fifteen minutes, but the child's as stubborn as a mule! I've done everything I could think of short of physically removing her. Even then, I don't think I could, with all of the girl's recent training…"
Joan nodded in agreement, her eyes on the children. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Why don't you go to lunch? It's five till."
The nurse smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks, Joan. I think I'll do that. What are they serving today?"
Joan wrinkled her nose. "I think it's supposed to be some sort of sausage and broccoli hybrid. I can't be sure…"
Joan's friend groaned. "Great…Well, as long as it's been approved by what's-her-name, I guess it's edible. Still, that kid's definitely not eating today. And frankly, I don't blame him." With that, she disappeared down the hall.
As the koala left, Joan quietly took in the scene before her. The first person that caught her eye was the boy. The little blue hedgehog was right where she'd left him last time, sitting on the cold floor with his back to the wall. He was hugging his knees tightly to his chest, his face expressionless. The hedgehog's vacant emerald eyes stared downward, unfocused, and his ears were still and unresponsive. There was no visible sign that he could even hear the girl in front of him.
That didn't seem to deter her in the slightest. The young leopard had sat herself directly in front of him. She had her legs crossed and was leaning forward slightly, talking to him as though they were the best of friends. The girl smiled as she told stories of her new best friend, how big the complex was, how her "idiot brother scared the bajeebers" out of her, and "Just what is a bajeeber, anyway?". She didn't seem to mind the fact that the boy couldn't hear her, that he wouldn't even acknowledge her presence. She refused to believe the doctors and the psychiatrist when they said that the boy would stay like this for the rest of his life.
One of the guards had discovered him a couple of miles from their hidden complex, curled up on the ground, dead to the world. He was a sorry sight when he was first brought in. He was sopping wet, and his once-azure fur was caked with mud. He looked half dead, and was covered in bruises. His hands were the worst, though. His gloves had been tattered beyond repair, and his palms and fingers were bleeding from numerous cuts and scrapes.
How he'd become that way was anyone's guess. The doctors and nurses shivered to imagine what had happened to the little hedgehog, but they couldn't get so much as a glance out of him. He was a no-name, a 'John Doe'. They'd come to call him 'Johnny'.
The doctors had puzzled over his lack of response. Some said he'd hit his head, some said it was shock. The psychiatrist declared it to be severe emotional trauma. Whatever had happened to him was so devastating, it'd caused him to retreat inside himself. She said he'd probably snap out of it in a day or two.
That was nearly three weeks ago. For three weeks, 'Jonny' had done nothing but sit there, occasionally rocking back and forth as he stared off into oblivion, forever trapped in his own mind. They could barely get him to eat, for he was limp as a rag doll, not responding to the food they'd placed in his mouth. The little hedgehog got thinner and thinner as the days dragged on. Finally, the psychiatrist proclaimed him too far gone. The doctors proclaimed he would die. Everyone had given up on him.
Everyone, but Sasha.
The little golden leopard never stopped coming, even when everyone else left. She'd sit there for hours with him, never really getting bored. She never tried to get his attention and she never laid a finger on him. The eight-year-old just sat with all the infinite patience of Job.
Sometimes, she spoke. Sometimes she read to him. She even did her homework there, explaining the problems to him step by step. Occasionally, she sang, her voice echoing through the hospital corridors. When she ran out of things to do, she just sat next to him and dreamed.
However, it had been three weeks. It was honestly a miracle the boy hadn't starved yet. He couldn't be saved, and no one thought the girl should waste her life trying to help a lost cause. Yet, here she was, every day without fail.
Joan sighed and pinched her eyebrows, preparing herself for the battle that was to come. "Sasha. What are you doing?"
Sasha turned to her, smiling brightly. "Oh! Hi, Miss Joan!" she greeted cheerfully, amber eyes sparkling in the light from the doorway. "Could you close the door, please? He doesn't like the light."
Joan raised an eyebrow, but did as she was asked. "How do you know, child?" she wondered.
Sasha shrugged, turning back to her friend. "He curls up tighter when the light comes on," she replied, then spoke again to the boy. "That's okay, though. I like the dark too. It's really nice and peaceful. It makes you feel comfortable, doesn't it? Hey Joan, did you see my lunch on the way in?"
Joan blinked at the question. "Yes…I saw your lunch. I think it was on the table…Wait, here it is." She handed the small, tin lunchbox to the leopard. "Sasha, why don't you go and eat your lunch with your friends?"
The leopard opened the box and took out a sandwich. "I am," she replied. "And if he gets hungry, I can give him some of it."
The nurse frowned. "The boy's not going to eat, Sasha."
Sasha shrugged. "He might get hungry," she repeated, and took a bite.
Joan shook her head as the girl continued to eat in silence. It wasn't worth it. She knew from experience that she wouldn't be getting Sasha to leave the hedgehog's side anytime soon.
A few moments later, Sasha heard the door close as the nurse left. For a few minutes, all was quiet. Then she turned back to the boy. She could see his silhouette as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
"You lost somebody, didn't you?" she murmured. "You lost your family." Sasha sighed quietly, not seeing one of his ears twitch toward her in the dark. "I can kinda understand. When my parents died last year, I was really, really sad. For a long time, I didn't want to talk to anybody, jus' like you.
"But you know what? My brother was sad too. He was sadder than I was and he never smiled at anything. So, I decided to be happy. I was happy, even though it hurt really much. I had to be really, really happy because I have to be happy for both of us. Besides, Mommy didn't like it when I was sad. Mommy always wanted me to be happy, so I am."
Then, Sasha smiled, her face lighting up. "Now, it's really easy for me to be happy! I've got lotsa friends and my brother's not sad anymore! We play tag and hide-and-go-seek and I found a really cool hiding place that's a super secret that no one knows about! It's really fun!"
The leopard's smile softened as she leaned closer to him. "I betcha all of your friends woulda wanted you to have fun too." The boy's other ear swiveled toward her. She didn't notice. "I betcha they wouldn't want you to always be sad. It's okay to miss them, but you can't always be sad. You've gotta be happy for them, okay? You gotta be really happy and you gotta play tag with us! I'll be your friend and I'll make it easier for you to be happy!
"I know that you're going to get better soon," she continued, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. "I don't care if you takes you a long time; I'm going to be here, okay? I'm going to be here when you wake up and I'm going to show you how to play tag! And hide-and-go-seek!"
Then she turned back toward him. "I know! Why don't we play hide-and-go-seek-tag! It's where you hide and when the person finds you, you run so they can't catch you and…" Sasha suddenly quieted, looking in wonder at the boy. His head had raised slightly, and he was watching her silently, his emerald eyes catching the light from the cracks in the curtains.
The leopard smiled. "…And you have to run really fast, cause if they tag you, you have to help them find people. The last person to get tagged is 'it' in the next game! It's really fun!" As she spoke, the boy slowly lowered his head back down, his eyes once again becoming unfocused. Sasha was on cloud nine continued to talk, undeterred.
Every now and then, the boy's eyes shifted up to her before returning to his knees. Both of his ears remained trained on her, listening.
XXxxXXxxXXxxXX
The physiatrist and the doctors stood in a crowd, chattering urgently amongst themselves. They argued about theories and calculations, the nervous system and mental stability. Suddenly, they yelped, as a small crowd of children sped through them, bumping into people and laughing. A blue hedgehog was at their heals, his face stretched into a excited grin as he chased them.
As far as they knew, the boy had been completely unresponsive for three-and-a-half weeks. The next thing anyone knew, he was eating normally and running around with the other children as though nothing had happened.
They simply couldn't explain it.
Me: So, what do you think happened? How did Sonic end up the way he did? Don't spaz, you'll find out soon enough...Until then, click the insperation buttton! And VOTE ON MY POLL!
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