Jayde the Hedgehog • Rising Adversity [2]

10: Nightmares✔️

Music: Blank - Disfigure

With the Mobians

Shadow stared up at the night sky, watching the stars as they slowly moved above him. It had been a while since he'd been at peace for this long. Even with the soft snores coming from the Mobians around him, he still felt a sense of tranquillity. Everyone was asleep around him. Jayde was on the branch above, shifting every so often. The other three were sat around the dying fire, Amy having manoeuvred herself closer to the blue blur's body for warmth, and the young inventor had wrapped his two tails around him to keep the heat in.

Shadow's ear twitched slightly, glancing up at the grey hedgehog. She whimpered slightly, making the ebony male frown – what was wrong? She had been peaceful through the night. But now she squirmed, slightly harsher than before.

In Jayde's mind...

I could hear everything.

The screams of civilians outside in our small unnamed village, the crackle of the fire around me, the rumble as the ground shook below us.

This robot was bigger than the others. It caused more damage, broke down more trees as if they were twigs under it's metallic foot. The male inside laughed loudly, wanting to get to our elders who were thousands of years old.

My twin brother grabbed my wrist, grinning, blue eyes glinting mischievously, "Hey, wanna cause some havoc?"

My childish younger self nodded eagerly before we both raced towards the robot. Neither of us had any special powers. We weren't perfect in the art of combat and we didn't train six hours a day for this – but we went in any way with our fear on the tips of our tongues. The fighting guards yelled at us, but we ignored them.

We sneaked past some small robots before we leapt inside the robot, "We should find the main power station. That way we can stop this man before he reaches the elders." I nodded, following my brother as he navigated us around. We smashed multiple guard bots with our weakening feet, but still continued.

Our dad was fighting below, smashing apart any robots that came too close. We were like him. We shared a passion in saving and helping people.

We reached the control station, a round, bald headed man sat inside. He stared out the window, watching everyone scuttle to their safe houses. He crackled with laughter, not noticing the twins as they snuck past until the robot began to malfunction.

"If we break the orange wire, that should stop the controls." Jayde muttered, yanking at another black wire. Her brother nodded, pulling out a pocket knife from his sword strap and slicing through the orange wire.

A yell of anger was heard, and the robot soon began to collapse. The twin's grabbed hold of the robot as it stumbled backwards, the male's eyes widening, "Jayde, it's heading towards the cliff!"

Jayde heard the shout of her brother and panic began to set in. They both started to run around, trying to find any way out. The robot began to malfunction and went haywire, tripping over multiple broken trees.

We gasped as the robot tilted over the edge of the cliff and began to fall. My twin grabbed my wrist and leapt out the front window, glass piercing our skin. The robot's arm crashed against the rock above, causing us both to fall.

My brother used his sword strap to make us come to a halt, staring down at the drop below us. He strained, looking for any way out.

The male glanced down at his twin sister, watching as the fear set into her eyes. He had to save her. He knew she had a reason to being here, the elders had told him themselves. She needed to be kept alive. He looked up and saw a safe ledge – and only enough space for one person, "Jayde, promise me something," he looked down at her as she stared at him in confusion, "Promise me that you'll protect people. Promise that no matter what, you'll run with the wind."

Still confused, Jayde nodded. Her twin brother smiled sadly at her before mustering up all his strength, throwing her up to the ledge. He noticed the rocks above him beginning to crack, and drew a deep breath. Jayde rolled into the ledge's wall before quickly scrambling to the edge, "No, wait! Jayden, I'll pull you up." Jayde began to reach down, but the edge broke slightly.

Jayden smiled up at his sister, "You can't, Jayde."

"Yes, I can!" she cried, trying to reach down further. Her hand went to grasp his fingers, trying to stretch as far down as she could. He smiled at her efforts, but looked up and saw the rocks seconds from falling.

"Jayde, stop." Jayden mumbled.

"No! I can save you. I won't leave you here!" Jayde yelled, but her brother simple shook his head.

"You've got to run, JJ!" he shouted at her and the rocks completely fell. Jayde scrambled back, a few of them scraping her arm.

She looked over the edge, watching Jayden let go of his sword strap, "No-no... JAYDEN!"

Jayde yelled as she woke up, jumping from her sleep. She breathed heavily, her hand placed over her rapidly beating heart as she tried to get oxygen into her lungs. Sweat dripped from her head and she jumped down from the branch. Jayde wobbled as she stood, wiping away multiple tears.

After leaning against the tree for some time, she looked around at her fellow teammates. Sonic and Amy were still asleep next to each other and the red and black hedgehog was still snoozing in the tree. Or so she thought. Shadow shifted in his spot, turning to look down, watching the grey hedgehog as she walked off into the forest. He had watched her from below as she tossed and turned, ready to catch her if she fell. He got down from the tree, awakening the other two as he began to follow her into the woods.