Broken Timelines

Chapter 2

The repeated tapping echoed off the surrounding buildings. A man wearing a hooded cloak was running frantically down a near empty ally way, in an attempt to get away from an unseen force. The concrete below his feet was damp from a gentle, continuous rain, but the air smelled like a bigger storm was on the horizon.

The man rounded the corner, and pressed his back against the wall. His breathing was heavy, yet shallow due to him attempting to keep quiet. He had been running for so long, that his lungs burned and practically screamed for as much oxygen that they could get. Once he settled his breathing somewhat, the man carefully peaked around the wall.

The ally was devoid of life. Not even the smallest of creatures wondered between the buildings. He could still remember when this city, this exact street, was busy and teaming with mobians and humans alike. But ever since the doctor began attacking civilians in mass, people began to disappear.

His vision caught the glimpse of shiny metal moving a few ally ways down. It was silver colored and in the shape of a multilayered disk, with a big green eye on the front that clocked everything it scanned in a neon hue. Just as the cloaked figure became concerned that he still hadn't lost the robot, the machine turned down a different ally and began to methodically look over every nook and cranny. A shaky sigh escaped his lips as he turned around, and continued his run.

He was now clear to retreat to the secret hideout without the fear of being followed. Thankfully, he stayed close to the building that held the base. A few blocks down, he stopped outside a seemingly normal window, and looked around again. When he was convinced no threats were around, he opened the window, and jumped inside. Once inside, he closed the window, and pulled the blinds over it. He couldn't help but let another small sigh out as he realized he had been holding his breath since he entered through the window.

He barely escaped this time around. Scavenging missions were becoming more difficult, which meant the doctor had ramped up his assault on the public, or whatever was left of it anyway. The robot attacked from his blind spot, and it took everything he had to get out of the machines clutches. He didn't get out of it unscathed, as his back still burned from the strike, but the wounds were superficial. He'd live. He had too.

Once he felt a little less shaky, the cloaked figure opened up a secret door in the room. It was easy to miss, unless you were specifically looking for it. He made his way inside, making sure to securely close the door behind him. The hidden room was extremely dark, but the man knew the path by heart.

'Hug the right side wall,' He thought to himself, '...take 15 steps forward, then 11 to the left. Five to the right, and finally take another right and walk 20 more steps.' After the last step, he arrived at a seemingly bottomless pit. But the bottom was his destination, and he jumped in.

As he fell, it felt like it lasted forever. It always did, but he knew how long it lasted. After a few seconds of falling, he saw the safety rope, and grabbed hold, slowing his fall. Eventually he came to a halt at the bottom.

The hallway he was in was slightly clearer than the pathway before. A faint light shinned from under a impressively large metal door at the end of the hall. Once he got to the door, he fished out a slip of paper from a satchel hidden under his cloak. He slid it under the door, knocked, and then waited. It didn't take long for the sound of several heavy locks sliding into place, and the door for to swing open.

As it did, a dull pink hedgehog that was missing her right arm lunged out, and hugged the cloaked man tightly. Genuine relief washed over the pair as they embraced. Others on the inside of the rather large room looked on as the two slowly waddled inside, still locked in the bear hug that was mostly because of the girl. Once they were clear, the large door swung back into place, and several latches snapped back into place on their own.