Chaos Corrupts Absolutely

Chapter 10

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[Time - 2:17 P.M.]

[Date - July 1st, 23XX)

(Location - Station Square, Central District, Train Station)

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{Now Departing, Train 06 to Central City.} A female human railroad engineer spoke over the intercom system heard throughout the train station.

Sonic stood in line behind a few people, waiting to get a train ticket from the man behind the glass of the kiosk. He was still thinking about Amy. In fact, since he had left her apartment, she was the only thing that had been on his mind. He felt weird, like his brain wanted things to go one way while his heart wanted them to go another. Trying his best to hold steadfast with his decision, he continued to convince himself that this was for the best. No matter what, he had to keep telling himself that this was the only way to protect her. He had to keep envisioning her face of great fear to repeatedly renew his courage.

"Next..." The guy in the kiosk spoke as the person he had served walked away with their ticket.

'I hope she doesn't hate me now.' He thought as he tapped his foot from having to wait. 'I'm doing this to protect her, not to make her think I'm some sort of mega jerk.' Sighing, he hung his head as he finally admitted to himself that he had no clue whether or not this was actually the right choice to be making. All he knew was that he was doing it; now he had to follow through. It would be super awkward to head back now and admit he was incorrect. 'I guess this makes me stubborn, huh?' He chuckled aloud to himself, receiving a few glances 'Who am I kidding? I know I'm stubborn.' Lifting his head, he stared at the man in the booth as the person worked at registering people's tickets on his computer. 'It's not a good trait, but it's my trait.'

"Next..." The guy in the kiosk said the same thing as he moved the line along.

Moving up a step, only a single woman was in front of Sonic now, so he did his best to keep waiting; despite patience clearly not being a strong suit of his. To cheer up, he started to try and push the thoughts of Amy out of his head. He knew he couldn't stand there endlessly dwelling on how she was going to react to his absence. Doing such a thing would be a complete drain on his already feeble psyche. Shaking his head to sling away the thoughts, he cleared his throat. 'I'll be okay and she will be too. She might be upset, but if she truly loves me as much as she claims to, as much as I know she does, then she'll probably understand and forgive me. After all, it's not like I plan on staying gone forever, just until things cool off with all the local violence toward me.'

"Next..." The guy said with bored suspiration.

"Hi there." Sonic said as he approached the window to the booth. "Can I get a one-way ticket to the Mystic Ruins, please?"

Turning to face the computer, the man's fingers momentarily hovered over the keyboard. "Soonest departure?" He asked. When he saw Sonic nod, he typed in the destination prior to scanning the screen for the options. "You're in luck. The next train to the Mystic Ruins arrives in five and departs in fifteen minutes. Do you want it?"

"Yes, please." Sonic said.

Confirming the destination on-screen, the man in the kiosk replied. "That'll be forty-eight dollars and fifty-two cents."

"For a one-way ticket to the Mystic Ruins?!" Sonic asked in shock over the price.

"Yes, sir." The man nodded his head in acknowledgement over the price increase. "We had to go up on our price since the worker strike forced the union to give us the pay raises we deserved."

"That's ridiculous!" Sonic ranted at the man as he pulled out his debit card, handing it over to him. "They couldn't find funds for your pay raise in any way other than to squeeze a bit more money out of us?"