𝙰𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚎

      While the blue hedgehog lived and grew up in an orphanage, he had already forgotten about his parents. He even forgot about his home, but the only thing he remembered was that he was free outside this house. However, he was never allowed to go outside even for a walk. At least one, at least with one of the elders, because everyone was busy. The hedgehog, named Sonic, was sad and bored sitting for probably his fifth year. All he did was sit near the window in his bedroom and watch how sometimes some children were taken into their families, but on the contrary they were sent here. For example, one evil mother red echidna held a red young echidna by the hand and forcibly dragged him to an orphanage. The baby tried with all his might to break free and run away, since he did not want to go there, but his mother was stronger and held his hand tightly, not letting go. Sonic even heard what they were talking about: — Don't give me up, mom, please! I will no longer misbehave, walk at night and go to bed after midnight. Give me a chance! I pray, mom. Give me one last chance! — Shut up! — she answered her son sternly and, raising her elbow, threatened to hit him. The baby only covered himself with his free hand, afraid of getting hit by his mother. — Unhappy children! - Sonic spoke about them out loud. He really felt sorry for those who were sent here. He himself has been sitting here for a long time and is tired of waiting. when he is finally adopted. He was even jealous that other children were adopted, but he himself was not. In order to take his mind off these thoughts, he went to the first floor to the dining room, and there, as usual, all the children were given only porridge. Although this semolina porridge was tasty and healthy, everyone was already tired of it. The children wanted something more varied. For example, pizza, meat, soup, borscht, pasta, ice cream, or at least a cake. However, those who complained about this were punished and put in a corner. Either you had to accept it and eat what they give you, or not eat anything at all. Sonic got tired of this life and decided to run away from this orphanage. Finishing his porridge, he returned to his bedroom and began to think about what he could come up with to escape. He thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, and thought, until he fell asleep in the middle of the day. He dreamed that he made a vine out of blankets, stuck it out through the window, and on the street he blew up the director of an orphanage using dynamite. Then we also blow up the orphanage itself with dynamite and all the children run out of it, shouting: — OOI-I-I!!! WE ARE FREE!!! When Sonic woke up, he immediately knew how to escape. But not as naturally as he dreamed, but on his own. Fortunately, he noticed that since childhood he had the ability to run super fast, that even adults could not catch up with him and grab him. True, he himself didn’t understand why he didn’t think of this right away earlier? Maybe because he was still a little smart then, like other stupid children who had not yet fully grown up and did not understand anything that they themselves could not think of yet. — All for lunch. Lunch! We have porridge. — uncle the guard called everyone together and all the children immediately left their bedrooms. Only Sonic hasn't come out yet. He entered his bedroom and noticed that the bed was full. — Hey, stop sleeping. It's time for lunch! — he told him and took off the blankets, but there was a bunch of pillows there, and Sonic himself was hiding above the closet. Then he jumped off and ran towards the exit. When the guard noticed this, it was already too late: — Stop!... Sto-o-op! Near the exit there was another guard who stood in the way. Sonic outwitted him and passed between his legs with a tackle. Having reached the exit, he quickly opened the doors and ran outside. They immediately ran after him. The chase was watched by a crowd of passing peasants who stood aside. — CHASE HIM!!! HOLD HIM!!! — GET OUT OF THE ROAD!!! — STOP HIM!!! — GRAB HIM!!! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!!! However, no one intervened or tried to help them, and the hedgehog, trying to break away, wondered where he could run away from them. If he tries to run away into alleys or into a park, then others will easily notice him and give him away. Then he decided to run away into the forest and hide from them there. Having run very deep into the black forest and hiding there, he took cover and fell silent. So far no one is chasing him. Although maybe it’s because he ran away from them at supersonic speed very quickly that they couldn’t keep up with him and now it will take a very long time to get here. Grinning, the hedgehog continued skipping through the forest and even teased along the way: — You're lying, you won't take me here! Walking through the forest, he was happy at first, but then he became a little scared. Apparently this is the same scary forest that was told about in scary fairy tales and performances in their orphanage. They say that terrible creatures live in this forest, half Mobians, half snakes, and they call themselves nagas. They are predators and most often attack and eat naughty and bad children. At least this is what he, like most of the children in the orphanage, knew only from fairy tales and plays, as adults described them. More precisely, it was not clear who else they actually eat. if they really exist. He would like to believe that there are no nagas in reality and that they are all just stupid horror stories to scare children like himself.

***

      He was right in general to suspect all this, because in that forest there lived one such naked man. It was a small creature. Approximately the height of a two-meter man. It was half hedgehog, half snake. All black with red stripes, like a tiger from the back to the tip of the tail, with small white fur on the chest, with sharp claws on the fingers and terrible red eyes, in which there seemed to be a fire burning, which frightened many of his victims. He was still crawling and looking for prey, when suddenly he smelled an unfamiliar smell. — M?... What is this?... — the naga sniffed and grinned. — It seems a delicious dinner from the village came to me. I'll go and have some food. While he was crawling straight towards the smell, which came very far from Sonic, the baby himself was skipping through the forest and whistling something out loud to distract himself from fear. They were practically getting closer to each other. And suddenly they intersect with each other. The hedgehog first saw scary red eyes in the darkness, and out of the shadows it came out with its tongue sticking out. Sonic was scared of him and realized that it was all true about the nagas. They really do exist. They say that if you meet one of these, then consider that you are already a corpse, because they will eat you. Even if you try to run away, they will catch up with you and catch you. Maybe at least Sonic will be able to escape from him, since he can run at supersonic speed. The nag grabbed him by the legs with his tail and lifted him above him, holding him upside down. The snake licked its tongue and opened its mouth. Fortunately, Sonic thought to pull himself up to his knees, grab his tail and bite him painfully on that very tail. The naga screamed at the bite and let go. The hedgehog fell and immediately started running back. — COME BACK!!! STAND!!! — he hissed after the baby, but could not catch up with him. The hedgehog ran as fast as he could. He was able to tear himself away from him and was already happy when he suddenly braked when he saw the director of the orphanage and the guards in front of him. — HERE HE IS!!! — the director shouted, pointing his finger at him. Sonic, having already forgotten about the naga, simply ran back, again to meet the naga. He ran forward, not forgetting to look back to see if they were running after him. When suddenly he accidentally crashed into the stomach of the very naga from whom he was running away before. — HEY!!! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE RUNNING!!! — he hissed at him, unable to resist. He actually slammed into it so hard that the kite almost fell. Sonic looked at the naga with bulging eyes and was very afraid of him. He didn't know where to run. If he runs back, he will be returned to the orphanage, and if he runs from them to that naga, he will eat him. It was useless to run left and right, since there were no turns. Screams and the sounds of footsteps were already heard from behind. Sonic had no other choice. He just ran up to the naga and hugged him sharply. It’s better that the naked one devour him and he dies at least free than to live in that Hell in the village for many more years. Nag did not understand why he suddenly returned to him and hugged him. Raising his head, he saw about nine people running up to him. They consisted of security guards and the director of the orphanage. Seeing the naga, they were immediately afraid of him, and the naga only grinned at them and placed his hands on the sides of his waist. — Excuse me, are you naga? — asked the director. — Yes, sir. — the snake answered and, pushing the hedgehog aside, crawled closer to the director. He stood still, and the guards only fearfully moved back a little. They would not have done anything to him, because they were armed only with sticks. — Listen, we don’t want conflicts and wars with you. Let's just calmly agree. You will calmly give us this little hedgehog safe and sound, and in return we will give you as many kilograms of raw meat as you want. I offer you an honest and peaceful exchange instead of a fight. — Oh yeah? — asked the naga. — What if I refuse? — Well... Then we... We'll come back to you... And... We'll tear off your tail. — a little fearfully and almost stuttering, the director tried to intimidate the snake, but it did not help. — Really? — asked the naked man and looked behind him, after which he asked: — Do you think you can handle me alone? The director turned around and noticed that all his guards had run back, leaving him alone. The hedgehog looked out from behind the naga and, smiling, winked at him, hinting that he had better run away too. The director, of course, realized that he also had to run away and ran away. The hedgehog-snake stood in place for five seconds, counting them on the fingers of his right hand, and then immediately crawled after him in pursuit. He caught up, lifted it and put it in his mouth, starting with the head, arms, torso and then gobbling up the legs, trying to swallow them too. My stomach felt full from such a big man. Sonic closed his eyes at that moment so as not to look at that horror while he was eating him. The striped naga burped and patted his chest lightly. — It was quite big. It will take me so long to digest it that I won’t eat anything for a couple of days. — he said to himself and crawled back. Of course, he looked at the hedgehog, but crawled past it and went home. Sonic looked at him fearfully at first, and then was surprised that he crawled past him. He didn’t even try to grab him and eat him again. The striped half-hedgehog, half-snake, seemed to him an interesting person. And no, not because he is a fool and does not see a terrible monster with a terrible threat in front of him. Vice versa. He understood the danger perfectly. However, he also, while living in an orphanage, understood that adult uncles and aunties, like humans and Mobians, could not be trusted. Considering how they treated him and the other children in that house who suffered from their cruel or abusive parenting methods. Therefore, he is now much less afraid of the huge snake than he is of people and Mobians. Deciding not to return to the village and to stay away from the Mobians with people, he decided to follow that naga. He walked and walked until the naked man stopped and asked him: — Why are you following me?? — Sorry. You are simply amazing. I have no words. — Who are you telling this to? To me? — asked the striped one, hissing a little threateningly. — Well, of course for you. The way you scared them is disgusting. They thought that they had almost caught me, but when they saw you, naga, they immediately squealed and ran away in all directions. It's a magnificent sight. — Hm. Glad to. But why are you following me? — I have nowhere to go. I have no parents and no home. And I won’t go anywhere alone at all. — explained the hedgehog. — You don’t mind if I go with you, do you? You are striped like a tiger and big like a tank. And together with you, we will scare everyone to death. Naga grinned, thinking about his words and suddenly attacked him, raising his hands to the top and growling. He hoped that this way he would scare the hedgehog and he would run away from him in tears to leave him alone. However, Sonic just simply jumped back from fear, opened his mouth slightly and stood still with bulging eyes. It really seemed to him that he would attack him and eat him, but he did not. When the naga finished growling at the hedgehog, the latter praised him: — Wow! You strange big beast! — he replied, showing a finger up. Naga lowered his hands and frowned, wondering how to get this little one to leave him and not follow him. — But I’ll give you some advice. Even if you just breathe, the effect will be the same. You probably need to chew the Orbit to freshen the breath from your mouth. — he added jokingly, and then covered his mouth, realizing that he had probably blurted out something stupid. — Om. No offense! — I’m already calm. Better explain why you pestered me? — asked the naga. — I'll explain now. — Sonic answered and suddenly began to sing, when suddenly some kind of melody was heard in the background: ♪ Because I'm lonely-y-y. ♪ ♪ Because there is no one near me-e. ♪ ♪ I have no problems. They disappeared. ♪ ♪ Nobody laughs to me-e-e. ♪ ♪ But I'm not alone without friends. Without friends. ♪ ♪ Because now I only have you. ♪ ♪ Yes. Only have you. Only have you. ♪ ♪ I don't have a better friend than yo-o-ou. ♪ While the naga listened to the hedgehog, he rolled his eyes and shouted: — STOP SI-I-INGING!!! — then he grabs him by the shoulders with his hands and presses his gaze to his terrible gaze. — DON'T SING EVER!!! DO YOU HEAR ME??? DO NOT SI-I-ING!!! — Then he threw the hedgehog aside. — No wonder you have no friends. — Why are you doing this? I sang to others and everyone liked my songs. — Who did you sing to? Did you sing to me? Do you even know who I am? — he asked and stood in front of the baby, stretching his arms to the sides. Sonic looked him up and down. — A-a-ah?... Big guy? — NO!!! — the naga shouted back, lowering his hands. — I, NAGA!!! Well, I mean, grab torches and pitchforks and save yourself whoever can! Because I attack people with Mobians and eat them for dinner. — he said proudly, clenching his right hand into a fist. — Doesn't that bother you? The little hedgehog just silently shook his head in response. — Really? — asked the striped one. — Really-really. — Sonic confirms. The striped naga even fussed a little. — Listen, I like you. My name is Sonic, what's your name? Naga immediately wondered how he should introduce himself. He wanted to tell him his real name, but because of his past, which he had been trying to escape for a long time, he began to think about what new name he should introduce himself to. Without thinking twice, he paid attention to his own shadow. At that very moment, the first option immediately came to his mind, which he didn’t think about for long and immediately introduced himself to the little hedgehog with his recently invented name: — Shadow. — Shadow? — Sonic asked through clenched teeth and thought: — “This is a rather rare name!” Afterwards, the baby went further after the nag, and this time he paid almost no attention to him. Of course, unless he reaches out to him and decides to talk again.