Of Sand And Of Subtlety

Perfect Day- Perfect Cover

  Blue waters, hot sand and cool breezes surround a group of six friends. With such a perfect setting, nothing could go wrong... right?

~~~

  With a contented sigh, I leaned back in my beach chair and looked up at the umbrella covering me. "Who knew a place so close to water could be so..."

  "Relaxing?" Rouge finished my sentence as she fastened a fifth video camera onto the lifeguard seat next to me, completing a full panoramic view of the beach. "At least when you're in the shade. Unlike Shadow..." She looked over her shoulder at the dark hedgehog standing by the shore with his arms crossed, gazing at the horizon.

  "So what's with the cameras?" I questioned.

  She turned on the one she had just placed, then glided down from the seat. "It's for Omega. The beach and robots don't mix too well, so I thought he could watch our beach day later. Shadow!" she yelled after her explanation, "If you're gonna just stand in the sun, at least go get a drink!"

  With a "hmph", Shadow started towards the nearby snack bar.

  "And Black Bull isn't hydrating!" Rouge continued her instructions. "Just drink normal water for once!"

  Amy stood up from her chair beside me and held up a half-finished shell necklace. "Sonic, I can't find the perfect pendant for this necklace! Could you find one for me?"

  "Sure, Ames." In a split second, I jumped out of my chair and ran down the length of the shore. I picked up the first big shell I found and dashed back into my seat, then showed it to her with a smile. "Here you are!"

  "Oh Sonic!" She pouted. "You did it too quickly! You're supposed to come with me so we can find a shell together!"

  I looked down at the shell I had grabbed. It had a large crack in it, and a bit of seaweed stuck to it, too. She wouldn't have settled for it even if I had walked with her to find it.

  "I think this is a great shell, though! I'll just clean it off real fast..." I quickly rubbed it against my chair and held it up to the necklace. "There. See? Perfect fit! I'd love to see it on you, actually. Could you try it on, Amy?"

  Caught up in the moment, Amy took the shell and started stringing it onto the jewelry. She had it on in seconds and started looking around for her pile of smaller shells she had collected, but something caught her eye just beyond me so she paused.

  "Hey, where's Rouge going?" she asked, and I propped myself up on one arm to look behind me. Sure enough, Rouge was starting down the opposite side of the sand dunes that separated the beach from the parking lot.

Knuckles poked his head out from a hole he was digging on the other side of the lifeguard seat. "She said she got a call from G.U.N. and they needed her at HQ or somethin'."

  I leaned back in my seat and turned to Shadow with a chuckle. "Don't go passing out on us now that your 'hydration monitor' is gone."

  With a growl, he tilted back his head, finishing up the last of his can of Black Bull.

  "It's finally finished!" Tails' voice called from the edge of the water, drawing all of our eyes to him.

  He held up the miniature ocean liner he had been rigging since we arrived, then placed it gently in the water. Picking up the remote, he started to steer it away from the shore, but a small wave flipped it over, causing a few of us to snicker.

  "Don't worry, buddy. I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually!" I said as I hid my smile behind my hand. Suddenly aware of my enjoyment, I sat up in my seat. "Hey, where's Amy?"

  Tails fished his boat out of the ocean and joined my half-hearted search. "I don't see her anywhere!"

  "Don't worry guys," Knuckles leaned against the lifeguard seat and crushed a soda can in his hand. "My guess is she's hiding. She'll jump out to scare us any moment now."

  Shadow lifted himself out of the hole Knuckles was digging earlier with an unenthusiastic "Boo."

  With a rattle of shells, Amy skipped out from behind the snack bar wearing all manner of seashell jewelry, striking a pose once she reached the foot of my chair. "Well? Whaddya think guys?"

  "Lousy jumpscare..." Knuckles grumbled and tossed his crushed can up in the air.

  "Nice, Amy!" Tails complimented.

  She was staring at me expectantly, so I hesitantly said, "Uhhh looks great, Ames."

  "So, is there any kind of plan for today?" Shadow asked, "Or are we just playing dress-up?"

  Amy clapped her hands in excitement, shaking her seashell bracelets. "I've got an idea! How about a sand castle building contest?" No one had any immediate objections, so Amy proceeded to explain the rest of the details. "There'll be two teams. I'll be on a team with Sonic, and the rest of you can be on the other team!"

  "Oh good." I sighed and stood up from my seat, looking around. "Well, where are the tools?"

  The pink hedgehog smirked slightly and pointed down the shore. "I think I put them over there somewhere. Why don't we go get them while the others start planning their castle?"

  "Good plan!" Knuckles interjected, then walked a little ways away from our chair set-up. "Tails, come help me with these blueprints. Shadow, could you get me a soda?"

  I rolled my eyes and followed Amy away from our camp, the sounds of Knuckles and Tails' calculations growing fainter. I was tempted to make a break for the tools and cut short the most-likely-planned walk Amy had us on, but I, unfortunately, had no idea where she had put them specifically.

  "Isn't this nice, Sonic?" she smiled and reached for my hand.

  In a panic, I pointed towards the horizon ahead of us. "Hey! That'll make a great decoration for our castle!"

  Leaving behind a yelling Amy, I charged forward, scanning the sand for some excuse. Just as I spotted a possible rock, I ran across a spread out towel. Without warning, the towel collapsed below my foot, causing me to lunge forward. In a split second, a wall of some sort appeared directly in front of me and I slammed into it.

Everything went black.