Chapter Text
Tom sighed, drawing his hand over his face. Wade was hauling the last dog cage up the stairs, away from the dark basement. Maddie stood beside him, her hand held over her mouth in thought.
She stared at where the several rows of dog cages had been. Tom and the rest of the people at his office heard about some guy selling dogs out of his basement to dog fighting rings, puppy mills, and who-knows-where else.
“Should we probably look around one more time to see if we missed anything?” Tom asked. Maddie nodded and turned to look into the rest of the musty basement. There were boxes stacked all over the place, where anything could hide. They worked together to look behind nearly everything, finding only dust and mice droppings.
Tom was about ready to say they should leave when his eyes caught something in the corner. A box was covered in a dark cloth, blocking what was inside. He strained his ears, and nearly heard something shift inside. He took a few steps toward it and the shifting sound stopped.
He slowly reached out and grabbed the edge of the blanket. Tom yanked it off and tried to see what was inside.
As soon as he saw the shape of it he screamed.
And it let out a shriek itself.
Maddie quickly rushed over. “What?! What is it?! What did you find?!”
“W-what is that thing?!” Tom yelled, pointing down at the cage.
Maddie swore in shock when she finally saw it.
Some animal was staring up at them, ears pinned back and green eyes wide. It wailed and pressed its face against the wires of the cage, covering its head with its… arms…?
“What is that…?” Maddie said quietly. She shined her flashlight at it and crouched. Its fur was a dull and matted blue. It flinched when she got closer. Tom stood behind her, still anxiously watching the thing.
“Hey Mads…? I don’t think that’s a dog…” he said, trying to lighten the mood. She glared up at him before turning her attention back towards the creature. She noticed it was trembling, its tail tucked between its legs.
“Hey little guy,” Maddie whispered, gently tapping on the wire door. It let out a whimper at the sound. It looked back at her with an unnervingly intelligent gaze. She clicked her tongue softly. It lifted its head a bit more and stared at her. She tried not to flinch at its wide gaze. It had a scar running down its right eye to its cheek, like a tear stain burned into his muzzle. Her eyes snapped to the latch, and found the wires around it covered by thin wood planks. I wonder why…?
Maddie carefully undid the lock, the grating sound of the metal making the animal flinch. It whined, pressing up against the far wall even more. “No, it’s okay, it’s okay, we’re gonna get you out of here, oka-”
“Out?”
She froze.
The animal covered its mouth with its paw. Tears filled its eyes, a lump swelling in its throat.
“You’re gonna get me out?”
Maddie looked up at Tom, who was shocked out of his mind.
The voice sounded so young.
“Yeah buddy,” she whispered, opening the door a crack. “We’re gonna get you out.” She reached her hand in slowly, but before she could say anything, the creature screamed.
He scrambled against the wire floor, cramming himself into the corner of the cage. “Don’t hurt me! Don’t hurt me! I’ll stay quiet, don’t hurt me!!!”
Maddie quickly withdrew. Tears were now rolling down the animal’s face. He was still yowling in terror, clawing at his ears.
She locked the door again and stood up. “We’re taking him home,” she hissed at Tom.
“What? Home? We-we can’t take it home-”
“Would you like to leave it here?”
Tom stared down at the creature, who had stopped screaming, and was just sniffling and sobbing occasionally. He slowly shook his head. “We’ll take him home. Anything’s better than here.” He picked up the dark cloth that had fallen to the ground. He hesitated as the small thing stared at him wide-eyed. It curled up even smaller, whimpering softly. He huffed and threw the blanket over the cage.
“W-wait! I thought you-you were gonna let me go! You were gonna let me go! Let me go! Let me go!!!” it screamed as Tom easily lifted the cage up. His heart hurt at how child-like the cries sounded.
“You check if anyone is outside, and I’ll carry him out behind you,” he told Maddie over the cries. She nodded and rushed up the stares. Tom followed behind her, and the animal’s screams grew quiet for a second. Then he started up again.
“Let me go! I wanna go home! Stop it, please! Let me go! Stop! Stop!!!”
He screamed and screamed, even while Tom ran down the dirt driveway to Maddie’s car. Everyone else had left, and only her car was left. She opened the back door and he carefully set the animal down on the car seat. It yelped in shock at being put down, and returned to yelling.
Tom and Maddie climbed into the car and drove away, through the thick woods where the house was hidden back to town. The yelling in the back turned instead to terrified sobs and whimpers. Tom’s fingers turned white around the steering wheel. Maddie reached over and held his arm.
“It’s gonna be okay,” she whispered. His face was grave as he stared at the road ahead.
The drive was long and tedious, even more so as they made it into town. The creature was still crying in the back, mumbling to itself the whole way.
Tom let out a sigh of relief as soon as he pulled into the driveway. He felt like jumping out of the car the whole way back. He opened the door before he even had the car off, Maddie jumping out on the other side. She opened the back door, her heart twisting at another terrified howl.
“I just wanna go home,” he sobbed through the dark blanket. “Let me go, I just wanna go, please please please, let me go…”
She took a deep breath and picked up the surprisingly light cage, earning another petrified scream. Maddie tried to ignore it as she hauled the poor thing up the stairs, Tom supporting the cage from behind.
They carried it into the living room, setting it down against the wall of the stairs. They shared a glance and Maddie nodded. Tom lifted the front of the blanket up, leaving it over the cage. He lowered his head and looked inside.
The little animal was curled up nearly to the size of a bowling ball. Only its eyes peaked out, shot red from crying.
“Hey lil’ guy…” Tom whispered. It whined and turned away from him, tucking its tail between its legs. “You’re safe now buddy… we’re not gonna hurt you…” The animal started crying again. “Okay… it’s okay, we won’t bother you…”
Tom turned back to Maddie. “D’you think we should let him alone for a bit?” he asked her. She nodded slowly, staring at the tiny thing.
“Maybe get ‘im some food and water… did you see how skinny he looked?” she said, still staring at the cage. The small cries and sobs were coming out of it. Tom nodded and walked away to the kitchen.
Maddie was on her knees in front of the cage, leaning slightly to see inside. The small space is still dark from the dark cloth over it. Only the slight highlight of the blue fur is very visible. She made a soft clicking sound through her teeth, patting the carpet under her hand. The animal flinched again, curling up even smaller.
“What happened to you sweetheart…?” she whispered. “I know you can talk… Why don’t you say something to me? We’re not gonna hurt you, I promise sweetie…”
He lifted his head a little, nervously staring at her. Tom then walked into the room, a paper plate and a glass of water in hand. “So I’ve got some lunch meat and cheese? I don’t know what he can eat…”
“I think it might be fine,” Maddie said quietly. She took the plate and glass from him and set it on the floor. The cage door grated against itself rustily, making the animal yelp in surprise. It tucked its head into the corner again. “Oh, honey, are you hungry? We’ve got some food for you,” she said.
He finally fully lifted his head, sniffing the air anxiously. “Food…?” he croaked, in that unnervingly child-like voice. Maddie nodded, slowly setting the plate down just inside the door. His eyes widened at the sight of it. “Real food?”
Maddie felt a lump swell in her throat. “What did that man feed you?”
He stared at her for what seemed to be a long time. His eyes darted to the plate and back to her face. “Doggy food,” he answered below a whisper. Maddie thought she would burst. He’s so young, she thought.
“How old are you, baby…?”
He recoiled from the other question, already not wanting to talk anymore.
“Okay, okay then… you can eat now, it’s okay. We’ve got some water too. You've gotta be thirsty, right little guy?”
He only pressed his face to the wall of the cage with another sob. Maddie backed off and left the door open, in case he needed to come out. She beckoned Tom into the kitchen, where she hoped he would hear them.
“We’re dealing with a child,” she said to him, planting her elbows on the kitchen island.
“What are you talking about? That… whatever it is, must age the same way as any animal,” Tom hissed quietly, glancing over his shoulder. Maddie grabbed his hand, her face grave.
“I know what I heard, and what I saw. I can see it in his face, it’s just a scared kid who’s been treated like an abused dog,” she growled low. Tom stared at her hard for a minute.
“Oh god…” he breathed, looking back again. Maddie drew her hand over her face with a sigh.
“What do we do?” she asked desperately. Tom shrugged.
“It’s hard to say. We could… be gentle with him? Treat him like any other kid maybe…”
They stayed quiet for a long time, thinking about what to do.
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Sonic cried softly in the cage, pressed as far into the corner as he could get. Why was he there? Why did they take him away? The man was going to be mad at him. He always said not to make any noise when people came over. But… the people that took him away… he remembered them. He couldn’t remember from where, but he’d seen their faces before.
It was so scary though! They took him to a new place, with all new smells, and it all felt weird! The only thing familiar was his cage and the harsh chemical smell of the big blanket over it. He picked at the strands of the carpet (Carpet! So soft!) through the wire bottom of the cage. He nervously eyed the glass of water and paper plate of food inside his cage.
The people hadn’t touched him yet. It was weird. He was used to getting hit or kicked whenever the cage door opened. The man from the dark house didn’t like him. Did he finally sell him? Sonic couldn’t count how many times he wished he was a dog. He wished the man sold him so he would be taken to a happy place. He had to be a stupid blue hedgehog.
Another sob drained out of his throat. The food was practically dragging him over to it. He turned to it, anxiously sniffing it. He stretched out to smell it better and whimpered when the chain looped around his throat and attached to the wall tightened a bit. He dragged the plate over, huffing softly to himself. Sonic tugged on the chain, his ears flattened.
“Go hooooooome,” he whined, staring out the open door. He looked down at the plate, covered in two pieces of what smelled like meat, and two slices of cheese. He picked a piece of cheese up in his bare paw, sniffing it curiously. Sonic took a bite of it.
He lost strength in his body as he chewed it.
Real food…
He sobbed, his cries turning to low wails while he ate. His tail twitched slightly in what could have possibly been a wag. It tasted so good!!! Sonic slowly ate, savoring every bite of food that wasn’t dog kibble. His head ached horribly as he choked down the water.
He heard the people murmuring to each other in the other room. His ears pricked at the sudden sound of nails clicking across the floor upstairs. A bark sounded, and he shrank back. A golden retriever ran down the stairs. He only had to be a year old. And it immediately pinned Sonic down.
Sonic screamed as the dog barked at him, sticking his head deep into the cage. The people ran into the room, tearing the dog away from him. Sonic cried into the wires of the cage, screaming and screaming until the dog was put outside. Even then he still wailed, tearing at his ears with his claws.
It took him several minutes to stop shrieking and to just lessen to exhausted sobs. The female person kneeled in front of his cage, whispering soft words to him. He let in a hiccuping gasp and stopped crying.
“It’s okay sweetie, Ozzie’s all gone, we put him outside, it’s alright,” she said, reaching her hand in a bit. That proved to be a mistake as he screamed again. “Okay! It’s okay, I won’t touch you, you’re okay.”
“I wan’ go hoooome,” he sobbed, covering his face with his paws.
“Where’s your home buddy?” Tom asked.
“I-I don’ knowwwww…”
Tom and Maddie shared a glance.
“Do you want anything, baby?”
He stared at them, his eyes shot red, fur matted and dirty. All he did was curl up on his side, letting out a low whine. Tom sighed, drawing his hand over his face. “What do we even do? He hardly says anything, and he’s terrified every time we move.”
“I don’t know what to do. He’s so little… the poor thing’s starving…” Maddie murmured.
“Maybe we leave him alone for a while. Maybe he’ll come out on his own,” he said, standing up. Maddie hesitated.
“Maybe…”
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Two days later, the animal hadn’t moved. They fed him and watched him, but he wouldn’t come out. Tom was sitting on the couch, guilt gnawing at him as the cage sat at the edge of the living room. He sighed and stood up, crouching down by the cage. The animal was curled up in the corner still, its chest rising and falling slowly.
He lifted his head to stare at Tom, its gaze sad and tired. “Hey lil guy. D’you wanna come out?” he asked. It turned away again with a quiet huff. "You're sure bud…?”
“Can’t…” the tiny animal answered.
“What do you mean?”
“Stuck.”
Tom drew up a little. “The door is open. You can come out anytime. We’re not gonna hurt you like that man did,” he whispered, patting the carpet in front of the cage. The animal turned to him, lifting up something in its paw.
“Stuck,” he repeated, rattling what sounded like… a chain? Dread boiled in Tom's gut. He threw the heavy cloth off the cage, making the animal shrink to the bottom of the cage in the light. It yowled as Tom stared at him.
He finally saw the chain glinting in the light coming from the window. It was thin, and linked to the cage. It was wrapped tightly around the poor thing’s throat. It had to be pricking and getting tangled in his fur.
“Oh my god buddy, I didn’t know you were… oh god,” Tom breathed. He rushed into the kitchen, digging through all their junk drawers. He finally found the wire cutters he insisted on keeping inside. He ran back, crouching by the back of the cage. The animal immediately screamed at the sight of the wire cutters.
“No! No no no, I’m not gonna hurt you with these, I promise!” Tom shouted over the terrified yowls. The animal tried to run, but only ended up choking himself. He pulled and pulled on the chain, crying in loud wails. “Just stay still!” Tom said through gritted teeth, as he tried to get the wire cutters around the chain. Tom tried to ignore the terrified screams.
He groaned with effort while he pressed down hard on the handles of the wire cutters. Suddenly the chain snapped, and the animal tumbled out of the cage. He laid frozen on the floor for a moment. He looked over and saw the end of the chain laying on the carpet.
“There you go bud…” Tom breathed. A kind smile pulled across his face. The animal tugged on the chain, since it was still wrapped around his throat. “D’you want me to take that off?”
He desperately shook his head and scrambled back into the cage. Tom’s heart sank as he stared at him through the wires. “I’m sorry kiddo…” He put the blanket over the top of the cage, leaving the front open for light to come in. He looked into the front and saw him curling up again.
It was the next day when Tom and Maddie were sitting next to each other on the couch, watching a TV show. Maddie looked over to the cage against the wall and grabbed Tom’s attention. She put her finger over her lips and motioned over to the cage.
The little creature was curiously staring at the TV, his nose poking out of the cage door. Its eyes were wide and innocent as he looked out. He looked over at Tom and Maddie, flinching when he saw their gazes on him. He cast his eyes down and shrank back a little. They both looked away, hoping that it would be enough to coax him out.
After a few more minutes he had come out again, a little further this time.
Maddie smiled softly as she saw him at the corner of her eyes. Ozzie was laying on the couch next to her, and she petted his head. She eyed a folded up blanket on the arm of the couch.
The animal shifted to try and get comfortable, but the wire pressed into his fur. He tugged on the chain around his neck uncomfortably. Maddie wanted to get it off of him, but he wouldn’t let them get close. And he had to be stiff by laying in the cramped cage. She let out a determined huff and picked up the blanket, earning a confused glance from Tom.
The animal whimpered and shrank away from her as she crouched down. “Hey baby,” she said softly. His ears pricked a tiny bit, and she noticed his left one was clipped like a stray cat. “Do you want something soft? Your cage can’t be comfortable.” He stared at her wide eyed, slowly drawing back inside. “I’ve got this blanket for you. It’s big and soft, you’ll like it,” Maddie murmured, setting it right in front of the door. He lifted his head, his nose twitching.
Maddie pressed her hand down on it as a display. “D’you wanna feel it?” His eyes flicked from her face to the blanket a few times. He slowly leaned forward, freezing whenever Maddie moved at all. He snuffed at the blanket for a moment. He reached out his little hand-like paw and touched it for half a second like it would burn him.
“Soft…?” he whispered, touching it again. He tugged it into the kennel with his teeth.
“You gotta unfold it sweetie,” Maddie said. He opened up the blanket and pressed his face into it.
“Soft,” he breathed again. He painstakingly arranged it around the cage to make the floor comfortable. He curled up in it, covering his head with it. “Soft feels good…” Maddie smiled softly when he finally relaxed. She stood up and padded back to the sound, sitting down with a satisfied sigh.
“What was that?” Tom whispered.
“I wanna make him comfortable. I’m not trying to scare ‘im,” she told him. Tom narrowed his eyes at her.
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Maddie was kneeling by the door of the cage, holding a paper plate. She had made a peanut butter and jelly for him. She hoped it would coax him out of the cage.
“Hey sweetheart…” she said softly. He lifted his head off the blanket to stare at her. “Are you hungry?” He whimpered and shrank away. “Come on baby, I made you a sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly.”
“Peanut butter…?” he asked quietly from the back of his cage.
“Yeah. Have you ever had that before?”
He shook his head.
“Well, do you wanna try it?”
He stared at her without moving for a long minute. He slowly nodded.
“Do you think you can come get it…?” Maddie asked, trying to be as gentle as possible. He whined low in his throat. “It’s okay. Just come take it from me. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
He stayed still for a second before moving. He moved like he did with the blanket. Stopping every few moments like a snail coming out of its shell. Finally he had his nose poking out of the cage.
“There you go, you’re so close, baby,” Maddie coaxed. She tapped her fingers on the carpet like she was trying to bring over a stray cat. He eyed her drumming fingers and tilted his head. She noticed and brought them a little closer to him. His ears pricked, his eyes dilating a bit. Maddie laughed softly, covering her mouth with her free hand.
She moved her hand back and forth, and his eyes tracked it. She brought her tapping hand right next to the sandwich. “Come on, come get it,” she told him. He poked his head out of the cage. Then his paw. Then his other one. He lifted his nose a bit to smell the sandwich.
“Peanut butter…” he breathed again, one of his ears flicking back. He reached for the sandwich, keeping his eyes on Maddie the whole time. She stayed still so as not to scare him. He apprehensively froze for a second before grabbing the sandwich in his paw and darting back inside the cage.
Progress, Maddie thought.
Sonic curled up in the corner, trying to ignore the way the female person stared at him. He sniffed at what she called a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A bit of brown stuff poked out of the side. He licked it and found it thick and sticky. But tasty. He tore the two pieces of bread apart and found one of them covered in red stuff. His ears pinned back. It smelled sweet.
He licked the red stuff and found it was sweeter than it smelled. Sonic bit the piece of bread and it made his tail wag. He put the two pieces back together and ate both of them. It tasted even better!
His tail beat against the soft blanket. This place was alot better than the other man’s house. The female person gave him this soft thing and a bunch of food! He wasn’t sure about the male one yet. He scared him alot. But he had gotten the chain off the cage! It was still around his throat though. He tugged on it once in frustration.
Sonic still wanted to go back home where his old cave was, but these people gave him food. He still thought they would hurt him but it was better than starving. He ate the rest of the sandwich, happy to finally have his belly filled. His cage was comfy now thanks to the soft thing. Blanket…? He thought, not quite remembering the word. He hunkered back down into the soft, letting his eyes drift shut.
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Sonic sat right outside his cage, staring at the TV. The two people were in the kitchen, talking to each other. The TV was making alot of loud sounds, but there was alot of colors on it. He fidgeted with the chain on the floor and noticed the man was staring at him. His ears flicked back.
“Do you wanna get that off bud?” he asked, pointing to the chain. Sonic’s tail immediately tucked nervously. But it was so uncomfortable. He didn’t like to have it on. It burned him whenever he- no. No, don't think about that.
He nodded a little. The man let out a breath and looked over to what Sonic could barely remember was his partner. She gave the man a hard stare before looking over at Sonic, her gaze softening. “You’re gonna have to let us touch you though,” she said to him.
“Touch?!” he cried, his fur standing on end.
“No, it’ll be okay! We’ll just have to cut the chain maybe-”
“Cut?!”
Sonic scrambled inside his cage, curling up small in the corner. “Don’t hurt me!!!”
The female came and crouched by his cage. “It’ll be okay sweetie, we’re not gonna hurt you. You just have to stay still for a minute and we can get it off.” Her voice was soft and kind, but the words stabbed at his chest.
“No! No no no no no! No hurt! No!” he screamed.
“Tom, go get the wire clippers!” the lady barked at the man. Sonic gasped.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please don’t do this, I’ll be quiet! Please don’t hurt me, I’ll be good!” He yowled again when the female’s hand reached in and grabbed his scruff. The dog barked at them from the couch. Sonic clawed at the wires of the cage, trying to get away from the woman.
“Tom, are you coming?!” she yelled again.
“I’ve got ‘em, I’ve got ‘em!!!”
The man, Tom apparently being his name, ran back into the room, wire clippers in hand. “Here, pin him down!” she yelled. Tom took his scruff from her and pinned him against his chest. Sonic thrashed and screamed as the lady held the sharp thing in her hand.
“Why?! Why?!” he screamed.
“We wanna help you, it’s okay. You’re gonna have to stay still though!”
Sonic roared again, and he felt electricity crawl through his quills. Tom yelped when he was shocked by him. Sonic yowled when the energy traveled through the chain and burned the fur around his throat.
“Stop! Stop!”
The lady stared at him, her eyes wide when she saw his eyes glow blue. She shook her head and quickly slipped the wire clippers around the chain, cutting it with one swift motion. Tom cried out again and let Sonic go. He bolted into the cage, gasping and rubbing his raw, burned throat.
He cried into the blanket, trying to control his sparking. He saw Tom pull one of his quills out of his cheek. The female looked over at him with wide eyes.
“You’re a hedgehog,” she said out loud. He backed away from the door, his tail tucked tightly against his thigh. “Y-you’re a big, mutant, hedgehog.” Sonic shook his head.
“N-no…” he whispered. The lady got down to her knees in front of his cage. He backed against the far wall. “Not f-from here.”
“You’re… not from here?”
“Not… Earth…”
She gasped softly. He hid his face under his paws.
“You’re an alien. Holt crap.”
She looked up at Tom. His face was dull with shock.
“W-who knew Green Hills was the place for this?” he quipped. The lady narrowed her eyes at him, but not angrily. She knew he had a way with coping. She looked back at Sonic.
His face heated with shame. “S-sorry,” he sniffled.
“It-that’s okay sweetheart. It’s not your fault. You’re just… different. That’s all.”
Sonic closed his eyes. He didn’t want to talk anymore. He was so tired. The lady stared at him for a while longer. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore her searching gaze.
Sonic wasn’t sure he liked her anymore. Or the man either, but he hadn’t liked him very much before anyway. He couldn’t trust anyone. They would hurt him.
But she was so nice! Except when they just held him down…
He buried his face into the blanket with a small whimper.
He’ll deal with it tomorrow.