Distortion

Chapter 3

 Morning as it always seemed was swift to come, the soft melodies of songbirds accompanying the rising sun. Their songs mingled with the early morning sounds, only to be drowned out by running vehicles. The morning was a normal one for Westopolis, though somewhat quieter with many citizens still disturbed by the previous attack. Everything was as it should be. Which Silver wasn't very sure if he liked.

The white hedgehog was still lying where he had been placed, head still resting on the cushion and curled into himself as he had been for most of the night. He was wide awake, though that could hardly be told with how still he was laying. It was only his amber eyes that gave away that he was indeed awake, with their constant movement of looking around the room. They were taking in everything from the walls, to the carpet, to the sparse amount of furniture. The room was rather hideous, that was the conclusion had come to as he had looked around, but of course, he had no one to tell this too. No one awake at least.

A deep sigh passed through his lips, and he curled in on himself just a tiny bit more, pressing his chin to his chest. He tightly shut his eyes, and his left hand came up to gently rub his bandaged wound. His eyes were narrowed, as if in deep thought, and there was a heavy frown on his muzzle. His rubbing quickly began to become scratching.

"Come on, Silv," he muttered to himself softly, though holding a sharp edge to it. He allowed his eyes to travel over and look at his scratching hand. As if suddenly realizing what he was doing, he willed it to stop, pulling it away and looking down at the now slightly stained gloves. He sighed again, wrapping himself in a tight hug before saying to himself, "Everything's going to be fine...perfectly fine."

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the slight ache in his stomach and perhaps try to sleep. It did no good, and though the closing of his eyes had made his queasiness somewhat bearable, he was still trapped in the land of awake. He opened his eyes again, moaning loudly to himself when he caught sight of something in his hand. He looked at his palm, his ear twitching ever so slightly as he stared at the sunbeams that had fallen upon his arm. His tired eyes watched as the light remained in its position, catching the light movements it made as it traveled along with the sun. He stared for a few moments more before his interest was lost where he let his hand fall, the arm coming to hang over the side of the couch.

But, in some part of his mind, it was enough. A small smile began to ghost his lips, and a flicker of hope sparked in his amber eyes. With a soft whisper, he said aloud, "Everything's going to be just fine."

Shakily, he pushed himself to sit up and escape the uncomfortable curled position he had been tucked in throughout the night. He stretched his arms, wincing with every pop and crack as well as the strain it put on his arm. Lowering his limbs, he took the time to actually examine his bandaged wound, pressing a hand to it and wincing at the applied pressure. There was blood seeping through the bandages also, no doubt a result of his scratching at it. Sighing, he rested his back against the couch and folded his arms.

"So what to do?" he muttered aloud, looking from one corner of the room to the other. Aside from the couch and glass table, there wasn't much else in the area that interested him. There wasn't until his eyes caught sight of a broad–and very dusty–T.V. just sitting in the corner of the room. How it could have been missed was beyond the ivory hedgehog with its size taken into account. It appeared to be an older model that had not been in use for a few years. Silver briefly wondered if it was even still usable. Pushing himself up from the couch, he tiptoed to the machine and placed a hand on its black screen.

Looking it over, he wondered if Shadow even used it. If the dust was anything to go off, that was a definite no. Besides, he didn't take Shadow to be one to lay around all day and stare at a screen. But then why would he have one in the first place?