The Shadow of Winter

Chapter 21

        The tires of the car moved slow over ice and snow, avoiding the slips and slides that would have been present at every turn. Young (eye color) eyes watched from the passenger seat as her newfound guardian squinted at the road, driving with extra caution. The male hedgehog steered them through the residential streets of G.U.N.'s military base housing, where many soldiers of the agency lived.

        Turning to the window, (Name) found with disappointment that the houses looked identical. They exhibited the same rectangle shape with two stories, the same bland roof, the same protruding one-vehicle garage, and the same bluish grey coating of paint with white trim. She wondered how she'd remember which house she and Agent Shadow lived in without looking at the number plastered beside the front door.

        Other than for Shadow's mutterings beneath his breath each time he drove past a street sign, the ride was quiet. A few blocks went by when he grunted and turned the steering wheel down a lane with those same bluish grey houses lining each side. After passing two houses, the agent pulled into the drive of the third on the left side of the street. He parked in front of the garage and turned off the engine. "This is it," he said, breaking the silence without looking at (Name). "Grab your backpack. I'll bring your chair to your side."

        As Shadow got out and slammed the door shut, making his way to the trunk of the car, (Name) zipped her coat and wiggled out the backpack she had resting between her knees. She pulled it onto her lap, and when the passenger door yanked open Shadow took it from her and set it on the cold ground. "Swing your leg this way," he said. The girl stuck out her leg cast and reached for the hedgehog, being helped down into her wheelchair. Shadow set the backpack on the lap of her uninjured leg. It was light, with only a change of clothes and some bathroom necessities. The hedgehog himself carried his black briefcase, practically empty now that the murder case documents had been removed. Those few things were all the anthro and human girl had.

        (Name) looked up at the house as Shadow wheeled her toward it. It didn't look terrible, she thought, but it was smaller than her previous home. She presumed two residents did not need as much room as four. "Do you think the inside is the same as every other house?" she asked, coughing when she inhaled the frosty air.

        "Not exactly, no," replied the striped hedgehog. He wheeled (Name) to the front porch and lifted her chair onto it, skipping the single step it had. "All the houses may look the same on the outside, but inside there are small changes. I've visited a few of them." Keys jangled when Shadow pulled them from his quills to unlock the door. He jammed one inside the lock, pulling harshly on the handle when the door refused to open because of an icy layer that stuck to the bottom of the door frame. Trying the door again with more force, the agent slipped and caught himself on (Name)'s wheelchair before he could fall off the porch. "Damn," he cursed.

        "Are you okay?" said (Name), straining her neck to look at him.

        "I'm fine," said Shadow in a gruff tone. "Some idiot forgot to turn off the heat while the house wasn't in use, and condensation built up outside the door and froze it shut. Are the humans incapable of intelligent thought? This is ridiculous." Shadow grit his teeth and kicked at the ice around the door, breaking chunks off.

        (Name) shivered in her chair, saddened by the words she heard. She knew the agent hadn't aimed his insult at her, he was just angered by the person who forgot to properly deal with the empty house. Yet, it hurt the girl when he spoke of her species as something inferior to his own. Shadow might be strong and smart and fast—more so than any human (Name) knew of—but like everyone else he had flaws. He had many flaws.