Zombie Weather I

A multitude of dark clouds gathered above the city of Station Square overnight, blanketing the entire sky by Friday morning. Throughout the school day it drizzled sporadically, but when it came time for Amy to join Shadow in the library, the rain was pouring down at its hardest. She took this as a bad omen.

"Hey, Shadow." Amy faked a smile, walking to their table. "I see you brought back my movies."

Shadow had taken the same seat he had chosen yesterday and was again posed with his arms folded and his head low. Amy dropped her backpack and settled in the chair across from him, concealing her hands underneath the table.

"So, how was your day?" Despite figuring he wouldn't respond, she felt a need to keep up a polite exterior.

"I had a pretty good day myself, though all this rain is kinda bumming me out." she told him. Her emerald green eyes gave the room a quick scan, hoping to catch a glimpse of her friends. She would feel a lot more comfortable knowing she wasn't alone with Shadow.

"The weather has been rather dreary." Shadow's deep voice remarked out of the blue. Jumping in her seat, Amy snapped her head around to stare wide-eyed at her ebony companion.

"Did you...Did you say that?" she tentatively asked him.

"You don't see anyone else here, do you?"

The pink hedgehog blushed. "Oh, I, uh, guess not. Silly me." She attempted a pleasant smile, but his ominous aura was thoroughly unnerving her, causing her lips to end up forming a wobbly line. "Sorry, I can be a bit absent-minded sometimes."

He made no further comment.

Inhaling a deep breath, Amy tried to calm her emotions.

"S-So..." she began, believing it was a good time for a change of topic. "About our project..."

Except for the rain pelting the library windows, the room was uncomfortably quiet. Amy swallowed. A scene from a horror movie she had watched yesterday popped in her head and she shuddered realizing how similar her situation looked to that scene. Two kids, a girl and a guy, had been sitting and talking in a dark room while it stormed outside, both of them oblivious to the zombies creeping up on them. The girl had gotten torn apart...

Amy wrinkled her nose. She hated how females were always weak and stupid in horror movies. If a zombie ever dared to try sinking its nasty choppers into her flesh, she would bash its undead head until it was...well, dead.

And what about Shadow? Would he run away like the boy in the movie, leaving her to fight the zombies alone? For some reason Amy didn't think so. She instead imagined him as the type of person who was never frightened even when staring into the face of death itself. He would probably keep a supply of loaded guns in the pocket of his hoodie, ready to riddle any threat with bullets.

A small smile played on her lips. Between the two of them, the zombies wouldn't stand a chance.

"Rose..."

She blinked, returning to reality. A blush rose to her cheeks once she realized she had been daydreaming.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I guess I kinda zoned out there." she smiled self-consciously, massaging the back of her neck. "Um...Oh, right. The project. Do you have anything for it?"

"...Yes..."

That surprised her. "Oh, good. What is it?"

There was a long silence after her question. The air grew thick with tension to the point where Amy felt like she was being smothered by it. She wasn't sure if her imagination was overacting or if it really was becoming difficult to breathe.

Slowly, Shadow unfolding his arms and reached into the pocket of his hoodie. He made a motion to pull something out from inside it, but paused. Amy furrowed her brow.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

A loud clap of thunder shook the room and the rain started hitting the windows harder. The pink hedgehog frowned at the worsening weather and then turned her attention back to Shadow, who was now holding a folded piece of paper out to her.

Raising an eyebrow, Amy sent him a curious look before removing the paper from his loose grasp. But in the process of doing this, she noticed something startling. Shadow the Hedgehog was...shaking.

His hand retreated and her eyes flew to the deep shadow where his face hid. For the first time, she had a strong desire to see the boy beneath the hood.

"I have to go." he abruptly declared and stood. "I'll see you next week."

Amy merely watched his hasty departure, the tension in the room dying down the moment he was gone. Part of her didn't believe what she had just witnessed, but the other part was certain she had seen correctly. Shadow's hand had been quivering. He had been nervous. Really, really nervous.

...

A big thank you to ShadowsAngel1, aliciathewolf45, Shadowy Nights, X-Zendaya, DarkPrincessDream, Princess Dark-Rose, mewfatima, Jun-Amy196, Maga Valkyria, Goblin Girl, and Project Shadow for reading my story thus far. This is my first serious try at a highschool setting, but I am trying to make it something different than what you would usually see in this genre. I hope my writing will continue to interest everyone.

Thank you so much for reading and please leave a review if you have any comments or criticisms.