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Fear was in the air.
He could smell it. Wafting off the beings surrounding him setting his nerves on edge. Screaming echoed through his ears, ebbing and flowing. His eyes darted to his left and right, hands clenched at his sides. His breath shortened.
He turned and his eyes met his companion’s, his anxious amethyst meeting cool green. His friend was almost vibrating, feet moving up and down, bouncing, a glint in his eye. Red shoes took another step forward, filling more of the space in front of him. Knuckles took a deep breath and followed, allowing his eyes to fall to the ground.
“Calm down, Red.” the words casually flowed off his companion’s tongue. His eyes darted back up to find a smirk playing on the hedgehog’s lips. “Nothing’s gonna happen.”
“You don’t know that…” he answered, voice trailing as his eyes darted to the side, watching the surrounding beings move around him.
Blue snickered. “I do. It’s going to be fun!”
Easy for him to say. Always the optimist. Always flinging himself into unknown situations with not a care in the world. Knuckles didn’t work like that. Knuckles worked on the defensive. Knuckles identified the threat and took care of it. But he couldn’t do that here.
Why did he agree to this?
Knuckles frowned. Muscles tensed in his shoulders as he heard more screaming pass through his sensitive ears.
“It sounds like torture.” he replied. “The others. They are screaming.”
“Nah, just having fun.” An easy smile passed his companion’s lips. “It’s going to be fine. Have I have ever given you a reason not to trust me?”
“Yes.” He clipped, his eyes narrowing. Green eyes lit up with amusement.
“Oh, come on…that was funny…” He replied as he tried to hold in a laugh. Knuckles’ eyes narrowed further in annoyance. “And there wasn’t any permanent damage…”
“I picked string out of my quills for weeks…” his deep voice spat out, teeth clenching aggressively. The hedgehog doubled over at the reminder, holding his hand over his stomach, laughter escaping him. Knuckles’ brow furrowed in annoyance.
Sonic’s laughter calmed and he ran a hand under his eye to push an amused tear to the side. “OK, OK” he continued, still snickering, eyes dancing. “I mean…when it really mattered?”
Knuckles watched as his friend easily leaned to the side resting his weight on his elbow against the metal barriers surrounding them, body language loose and calm. He found himself sighing, his mind mulling over the question.
Trust. It was a tricky thing. Trust is not something he gave out easily. Betrayal haunted him like his own shadow and he still had the scars, both mental and physical, from his attempts to trust in the past. He rolled his shoulders back and squared his stance.
They took a few more steps forward.
Knuckles chewed at his bottom lip, an answer dying on his lips as he continued to eye the beings surrounding them. What he did know was he was surrounded by strangers, something that made him very uncomfortable.
Silence fell over the pair. Heat beat down overhead causing sweat beads to gather at his quills. Breathing through the blazing temperature his lungs felt heavy, full. He felt his friend give him a pat on the arm. He ignored the attempt at comfort.
Eventually they stepped into some sort of shelter. Knuckles immediately picked up on a hum of electricity and his eyes drifted toward the top corner of the structure. He narrowed his eyes as an artificial breeze flowed through his fur, causing his quills to sway.
He looked forward to his friend who was practically vibrating with excitement, and…was that a bit of…fear? Knuckles felt his breath catch in his throat and his chest tightened. Just the hint of uncertainty flowing through his companion’s body made him stop.
How was he supposed to trust the hedgehog if he was unsure himself?
They took another tentative step forward. He chanced another look around the beings surrounding them from all sides. Adrenaline was coursing through the air, his heightened senses picking up the mixture of fear and excitement.
Another step forward.
A loud rush of sound from ahead. More terrified screams. His breathing picked up and his eyes darted from side to side.
“Come on, Knux…” the words rolled of Sonic’s tongue with ease. “This is gonna be great.”
The scent of uncertainty flowed through his nose and his eyebrows raised with disbelief. At this point he was unsure if they would make it out alive.
The loud noise sounded like a roaring beast charging its pray. As they stepped closer Knuckles could finally visualize the threat. A large machine parked in front of him, bright colors affixed to the thick metal. He narrowed his eyes. He had seen metal machines before. Brash and strong they would fly, leaving destruction in their path.
He held a breath as he watched unsuspecting beings loaded within the metal contraption. His eyes narrowed as he watched them restrained, unable to escape. He once again looked at Sonic with apprehension but all he got was an enthusiastic thumbs up.
The poor beings sat, pressed beneath their metal restraints. He felt a strong urge to surge forward and rip the machine to shreds. But Sonic had said to trust him.
Suddenly there was a rush of sound. Knuckles clenched his fists tightly at his side as the prisoners screams filled the air. He took in a sharp breath, watching them disappear into the unknown.
A loud grind, then the contraption returned with a clicking sound as it moved forward slowly, parking in place. A screech and a halt. Knuckles quills stood on end and his muscles tensed. The prisoners had disappeared.
His eyes frantically found his companion’s and the green that stared back at him seemed confident. Like they could take on the world. Knuckles didn’t feel so sure.
Another step forward.
“Ok…you need to promise not to freak out on me.” Sonic started, his voice now laced with more concern than amusement. “You need to trust me. We will be totally safe…”
His eyes widened further as he watched another stream of prisoners loaded onto the roaring contraption. His heart stuttered when he realized they were next….
Another roar, another round of terrified screams. His quills bristled, a tremor in his hand.
“Ok, seriously…” the hedgehog spoke, his eyes moving over Knuckles’ form, reading his body language. “No ripping metal, no panic. This is going to be fun!”
Fun!? People were screaming, people were sweating, people were…
Deep breath in. He was braver than this! He had fought and destroyed beasts of enormous size. He was the most fearsome warrior in the galaxy!
Click…click…click…
His vessel of destruction had arrived. He swallowed hard as the gates slowly opened. Before he knew it Sonic was behind him, ushering him forward. His head darted back, uncertain. Sonic just gave him a smile, then pushed him into the seat of torture.
“Just remember…you aren’t trapped, OK?” Sonic said as he climbed into the seat next to him. The hedgehog willingly pulled the restraints forward and they locked securely over his chest. “These are to keep you safe!”
Knuckles wasn’t so sure.
A human approached him from his side of the mechanical beast and pulled the metal bars down over his head. He heard a click and a pull, then the person was gone. He was officially trapped.
His large hands grasped at the restraint and he pushed forward. The metal did not budge. He felt his heart rate pick up. Breaths wheezed through his lungs, increasing in pace. He put more force into the bars but they felt locked in place.
“Hey!”
His wide eyes scanned to his left and he saw his blue companion looking his way. Their eyes locked. Knuckles tried to burry the uncertainty he felt within but did not look away.
Sonic gave him an easy smile and a soft wink. “Trust me.”
He took in a breath. Trust him. Trust…
He was jerked forward at an oppressive speed, his head pushed into the back of the seat he was trapped within. His hands gripped the metal handles and his eyes clenched closed. He could hear his brother screaming to his side.
Wind blew through his quills and against his face. He couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes.
Then a sudden jerk and the car had stopped. Knuckles let out a soft breath of relief. Then the clicking returned. Click…click…click.
His eyes flew open and he looked to his right. Pupils shrank to pin pricks as he watched the ground slowly shrink into the distance. He was going up. He desperately looked to his brother for help but all he got was a thumbs up.
He pushed again against the restraint. His teeth clenched, muscles taught. Sonic had said not to break the restraints. Sonic had said to trust him…
Click…click…click…
Knuckles clenched his eyes shut again as he felt the device climb, then pull forward as if it had reached the top. Knuckles allowed himself to sigh in relief. But the calm quickly fled as he looked forward. The machine was now facing down.
Knuckles let out a shriek as the contraption dropped them forward, his heart in his throat as gravity pulled them down. The wind slapped his face and quills and his body was thrown forward, only stopped from being ejected by the restraints he had been been afraid of before.
He could hear the hedgehog beside him yelling with…glee?
Suddenly he was turned to the side. Then he felt himself be pulled up and before he knew it he was upside down. Up and around he went then forward again. Knuckles chanced opening his eyes, and was met with the world moving quickly by.
His chest began to release and he felt a smile begin to grace his features as the car once again jerked to the side, twisting them up and around, then continuing on at an impressive speed.
His dreads blew around his face, his legs dangling beneath him. He couldn’t escape, he was trapped in this mechanical beast. But…he was…having fun?
The car maneuvered to the side and he found himself letting out a shout. Eyes were bright, grin wide. He heard his brother whoop next to him and his smile grew.
Then it was over. His head was jerked forward as the car slowed and clicked to a stop. His breaths were coming fast, his eyes wide. He looked again to his left and Sonic was meeting his eyes, laughing and grinning.
The car clicked forward and parked. He heard a sound and the restraints were released. He pushed them up and galloped off the machine, his brother just behind him.
“Whooooo.” the hedgehog yelled, draping his arm around Knuckles’ neck. “What a rush!”
The echidna let out a chuckle, all the tension that had filled his muscles now gone. “I am confused…you can go much faster than that.”
“Yeah…but…” Sonic leapt forward and turned his body toward Knuckles as they walked forward. “It’s not the same! Just…whooo!”
They continued down the ramps and to the ground, met at the end of the path by their guardians and a hovering little fox.
“So?” Tom asked with a large smile across his face. “How was it?”
“Awesome!” Sonic exclaimed, jumping back and forth with his fist raised in the air.
All eyes then turned to him.
“And….?” Maddie asked with mirth.
He turned behind him, eyeing this ‘roller coaster.’ He suddenly felt a bit sheepish, being so nervous. He smiled and ran a hand through his quills.
“It was…a fun adventure.” he finally answered. A hand ruffled the quills on his head and a strong arm was put around his shoulders.
Trust. Sonic had said to trust him. And against his internal judgment, he did. Maybe trust wasn’t so bad…with the right people.
“On to the next!” his blue companion yelled, throwing an arm forward to lead the charge.
Yes. On to the next.