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[Sonic] The Last Frontier: Ch. 4

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On my way back to the little Old West frontier town, I paid much greater attention to my surroundings.  The map hadn't been detailed enough to cover my journey anyway, and now with a hole torn through it, it'd be unwieldy to hold in front of me while running.  Starting with the outcrop of red rocks on the other side of the salt flat, each distinctive landmark was just one more breadcrumb to remind me of the path I had taken to get here.  When I approached the river gorge for the second time, I felt more confident in my ability to make a flying leap over it, and thankfully my confidence did not fail me.  (I still had to get a running start and deal with the crash landing afterward, but at least I knew what to expect this time.)  Once I was back on my feet and moving again, I started thinking about Sam and Sandy and Miles, and wondering how they'd react to my discoveries.  I even felt a bit of concern about the rest of the townspeople and where they'd all have to move in seven days' time if the letter from the government was to be believed.  I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be afraid of getting too immersed into this "sheriff" role I was pretending to play.

After rounding the last butte, Whispering Gulch came into view again, at which point I slowed my pace down to "normal" running speed once more.  Considering how (relatively) short a time I had been away from town, people might question what would make me come back so soon, so I decided I'd try my chances at sneaking in undetected.  I remembered the sheriff's office was at the end of one of the rows of buildings, so I ran a roundabout route to approach from that side.  Then, slowing down to a crawl, I put my back against the back wall of the sheriff's office, breathing hard.  I slinked around the corner and kept my eyes peeled for anyone outside, and for just a brief moment I felt like I was home again, sneaking into Robotnik's robot factories.  Two people on the far end of town were too busy talking with each other to notice me, so I stepped quietly to the door and knocked just loud enough for somebody inside to hear, assuming anyone was still inside.  Fortunately, Sam heard me and looked surprised to see I'd returned.
"Wait inside," he said, "and I'll go get Sandy and Miles.  Both of 'em went back to tendin' the saloon 'cause they didn't think you'd be back until nightfall, if not tomorrow."

The squirrel and fox looked just as surprised to see me as Sam had.  "What are ya doin' back here so soon?  Did ya get lost or somethin'?" asked Sandy.
I scoffed and said "There was a time or two I thought I was lost, but no, I really did make it all the way to Salt City and back.  I would've been faster if I was more sure of the route, not to mention that river gorge I was forced into leaping across..."
I didn't give them any more chances to address their suspicions of my speed, as I cut to the chase of what I found over in Salt City.  While the old hedgehog Randall (who wasn't present this time) may have expressed doubts about the reason for his town's takeover, to hear my explanations in such clear detail took everyone by surprise.

"So some kind of earthquake was the reason for the government kickin' the people out?" Sam inquired.
"It wasn't specifically the earthquake...it was the fear that an earthquake could rupture an underground aquifer and flood the town," I corrected.
"But only the fear that it could happen, right?" asked Miles.  From the look on his face, and Sandy's as well, both found the circumstances suspicious.
"Right," I answered.  "And why would the government warn that town about an earthquake and not this one?  Isn't this close enough to feel an earthquake too?"
"So what about the folks who were livin' there?" Sandy added, intending to change the subject.  "Did you talk to any of 'em?"
"Not a soul around to ask," I shrugged.  "It was the strangest thing.  People hadn't packed up and left like that old guy Randall said...it looked to me like they just...vanished."
The three exchanged glances of confusion and worry, unsure of what to say.

I then pulled out the map I had borrowed from the sheriff's office, spreading it flat on the table, face down.  I apologized for tearing a hole in it, mentioning how I suspected it happened by accident when I clenched it tightly during my jump over the river gorge.  Smoothing out the crinkles around the tear, I requested "Could someone please get me some tape to piece this together again?"
When no one responded, I looked up, and they were all staring at me, perplexed.
"Get you some what?" Sam asked.
That was another reminder that I was a long, long way from home.  Adhesive tape probably hadn't been invented yet in this time period.  So I sheepishly grinned and muttered "Never mind..."

As I reached to pick up the map again, however, Miles stopped me with "Wait a moment...what is that right there?"
All of us took a closer look, and found there to be some writing on the back, in the corner of the sheet closest to Miles.  I had caught a glimpse of it before this, but had just assumed it to be a smudge or dark spot.
"It's in the sheriff's handwriting," remarked Sam.
It was a short list of some kind, containing four entries in all, and at the top it clearly read "Salt City."
"Salt City?  As in, the name of the town I just came back from?" I pondered.  "Why would it be on this list?"
"All of 'em are town names, I think," Sandy said after she flipped the map back over and examined all its labels.  "Yup, I see 'em all on here.  But why write 'em down if they don't need to be added to this map?"

That gave me a sudden idea: "Maybe it has to do with where all of them are.  Is there a pen around here I can...use?..."
My voice trailed off on the last word, hoping I wasn't making a fool of myself again, asking for something else that wasn't around.  But Miles responded by digging through the sheriff's desk and finding some heavy, wooden thing which turned out to be a fountain pen.  I first located the map dot that was Salt City, circling the tiny place name beside it.  Then, having Sandy read off the rest of the names to me, I circled the towns of Brownwood, Gila Bend, and finally, White Rock, each getting progressively farther from Whispering Gulch.  I stood back to look at the map as a whole, looking for a discernible pattern in the arrangement of the towns.  The first three lined up in nearly a straight line, but White Rock broke the trend by being a lot farther northeast.
"Looks like the sheriff put a question mark next to White Rock," Sandy mentioned.  Which seemed fitting, since I couldn't figure out what it all meant.

Sam had been watching this unfold, and he must've spotted something the rest of us didn't, because he put his finger to the map, following the names from one town to the next.  "The path changes direction when it gets to White Rock.  But if you keep going northeast past that, you'll go through these three towns right here, and finally...the territory capital."
"But you're just guessing at that," Miles pointed out.  "It might lead to the capital, or it might not lead anywhere and we're just looking for a pattern where there isn't one.  Even if it did, there are other, shorter ways to get there.  Why would the sheriff write down these towns?"
I spoke up with "Yeah, why these particular towns?  Have any of you visited them at any time in the past?"  All of them shook their heads.

All we had to go by were the names of four towns, as well as my own personal experience at Salt City.  And when I thought about the eminent-domain notice that closed down Salt City, the revelation hit me like a ton of bricks: all of these towns (although, because of the question mark, I also had doubts about White Rock) had probably received notices from the government that seized the land and kicked the occupants out.  And the sheriff had somehow figured all this out, a long time before Whispering Gulch got its own death notice, and was preemptively trying to follow the pattern.  So of course, I shared this.

"Did the sheriff mention this little project to any one of you?" I asked.  Again, they shook their heads.
I continued: "When was the last time any of you had seen the real sheriff?"
Sam replied "'Bout two months ago, I reckon.  Said he had some unspecified 'government business' to attend to.  Wouldn't even tell me the details."
"It wasn't the first time he'd left town for mysterious reasons, though," Sandy added.  "On the one hand, he knew everyone in town and everyone knew him.  But on the other hand, there was some stuff he was real hush-hush about."
And now that I had put forth the theory about the sheriff finding out about all these towns being seized by the government, everything started to make sense to Sam, Sandy, and Miles.
Miles wondered "But for all the times the sheriff hasn't been in town, he's never been away for this long.  Do you think he'll ever be coming back?"

Sandy then stated "I think the four of us owe it to the sheriff and to our town to finish what he started...to continue lookin' for more towns, and maybe even find out where he went."
Sam looked worried as he reminded everyone "But our letter said there'd be government folks comin' into town 7 days from now."
I looked at him and countered with "For what it's worth, Sam, I don't think the threat is real.  Or at least, it won't be as bad as you're making it out to be."
"How do you know?" he retorted.  "You didn't actually see anyone from the government at Salt City, did you?"
"You're right," I admitted.  "I don't know.  But if we're gonna be leaving town to continue the sheriff's investigation, someone's gotta remain here in charge.  Sam, are you OK with telling people to pack up their stuff and get ready to leave, just in case something happens?  But of course, don't actually move unless someone comes here and forces you to."
"I think folks are already scramblin' to pack up...but all right, I'll stay," he said, casting his glance away from me on that last part.

Miles spoke up again with "I don't know about the fate of the other towns on the sheriff's list, or just how far you were thinking of going, but I think it'd be a good idea to go talk to someone in the capital city anyway.  Someone who can really answer the question of why this was sprung on us so suddenly.  And maybe offer relocation assistance or something."
Sandy declared "I think it's settled then.  Sonic, you and I are gonna head outta town for a little while, chasin' down these leads until we find out what's really goin' on.  If we've gotta go all the way to the capital city to get some answers, then so be it."
I seemed OK with that, and so did Sam and Miles.
Then, standing up and walking towards the door, she said "I gotta head back to the saloon and rustle up some supplies.  It's gonna be a long journey."
Again, she was talking about the saloon.  In disbelief, I blurted out "The saloon?  What, do you live there or something?"
Sandy gave me a dirty look, and Miles explained with "As a matter of fact, yes.  Aunt Sandy owns the saloon, and she and I live in the space on the second floor."

About 30 minutes after that awkward moment, I was standing at the foot of a small butte east of town, where I had agreed to meet up with Sandy after she finished "rustlin' up" some provisions.  I turned around once I heard the clopping sounds of horseshoes, and found the gray squirrel saddled up and ready to go, with several canvas bags draped over the horse's back.
Noting I was standing there without a ride of my own, she said "Ya know, Sonic, I had my doubts when you were talkin' before about bein' the fastest thing on two legs.  I thought 'there ain't no way this fella could've run from here to Salt City and back in less than an hour'..."
I responded "So you want to see it for yourself?"  Then I chuckled and said "Your wish is my command."
I picked out some arbitrary, easy-to-spot landmark nearby and pointed to it, then kicked up a cloud of dust and sand as I zoomed over to it in a flash.  I paused for a moment to let the dust settle, then sped right back, screeching to a stop in front of Sandy and her horse, who recoiled in surprise nearly enough to make Sandy fall off.  With a smirk, I asked "Is that proof enough for you?"
Sandy's mouth hung agape, clearly speechless at this display of raw speed.  She blinked several times, though I couldn't tell if that was from the dust or if she was thinking it was all a figment of her imagination.  But in either case, she cleared her throat and finally uttered "Let's get going, then."

She pulled out the map I had been using before, trying to chart our journey.  "The first thing we'll have to do is find the bridge to get across that river gorge.  You must've gone across it to get to Salt City, right?"
"Actually, I just ran really fast and leaped across," I corrected.  "I told you all that when I got back into town, remember?"
"Sure, but I didn't really believe it 'til now...So what do ya think we should do?  I sure won't be able to jump like that."
"I recommend we head straight east until we reach the gorge, then just follow it north.  Sam did say it was north of here, right?"
Sandy nodded.  "Let's hope it's still standin'," she muttered, as she put away the map and took something out of her vest pocket.  "It's 2:12 by my pocketwatch...let's see how long it takes us to get there."

Because I would obviously have no problems matching her horse's speed, I gestured to invite Sandy to lead the way.  She took off, with a speed that I could only describe as being faster than a trot, but didn't look to be a full gallop.  I was by her side in seconds, and asked "I'll admit I'm not too familiar with horses, but can they run faster than this?"
Sandy answered "Of course, but we've got a long way to go, and I don't want Petunia here getting tired too fast," patting the horse's neck.

After what seemed like an eternity to me, but was actually about 45 minutes (based on Sandy checking her pocketwatch again), we came to the edge of the river gorge.  Sandy took this opportunity to stop and let her horse Petunia catch her breath.  As it so happened, we were really close to the spot where I ran and leaped over the gorge to get to Salt City, and pointed out my footprints in the dirt as proof I'd been here.  (The drag mark I left on the opposite side couldn't be seen from this vantage point.)

"Now, this way is north, right?" I asked, pointing towards our left.
Sandy checked the map again and affirmed "We stayed pretty straight gettin' here, so it should be."
I added "I hope so, because it'd be a shame to travel all that distance in the wrong direction."
Then Sandy seemed to get an idea: "Hey, how 'bout you go run faster than a bullet again and find the bridge first?  That way we'll know for sure where it is."
On the one hand, that seemed like a reasonable idea: it was better to waste a few minutes of my time than to waste hours for us both.  But on the other hand, I didn't want to leave Sandy alone out here in the middle of nowhere, and besides, given my unfamiliarity with this desert land, I might get lost and not be able to find the bridge or Sandy again.
So I explained that to her, and she said "That's a good point.  We'd better stick together through all of this."

Onward we continued, following the river gorge north in search of the bridge that both of us hoped still existed.  Sandy started Petunia off at a faster speed than before, then dropped back down after a little while to allow her to recover, and then repeated the cycle.  I matched her pretty much step-for-step the whole time.  As it turned out, it was a good call on my part not to dash off in search of the bridge myself -- the gorge weaved and twisted its way through the rocky plateau like a ribbon, and it wouldn't have been easy (or safe) to build up any kind of speed while running along its edge.

Thanks to Sandy keeping an eye on time, it took several hours for us to find the bridge that spanned the river gorge, during which the sun moved across the sky and started warming its baby blues with shades of yellow and orange.  It was still light enough outside, though, to get an idea of what we were up against.  To our pleasant surprise, what Sam thought was a rope bridge had apparently been upgraded to one made of wooden logs...but that was the best thing I could say about it.  It looked to be only wide enough for three people walking abreast, it had no side rails or other safety features, and its supports underneath were long poles that looked to be haphazardly rammed into the walls of the gorge.  I wouldn't say it looked like it was ready to collapse at any second, but I certainly had my doubts about its rigidity.  And after exchanging glances with Sandy, it was obvious to see she was thinking the same thing.

"Let me cross it by myself first," I volunteered.  "And if everything looks OK, you can follow."
I took one uneasy step onto the first crossbar logs, and nothing happened, so I walked lightly across the structure, with my heart pounding.  I sighed with relief upon making it to the other side with not so much as a creak or a pop in the wood.
Sandy's turn was next, so she dismounted, grabbing the reins so she could lead Petunia right behind her.  She walked backwards across the bridge, keeping an eye on her horse's steps.  And from the weight of them both, the bridge began giving its groans of complaint.  I could only imagine how nervous the squirrel was, especially halfway across when there was a loud pop and she froze in place.  But taking one step at a time, both Sandy and Petunia made it across, with everyone still in one piece.
Sandy was panting heavily by the time she came up to me again.  "That was close.  I certainly don't look forward to having to do that again later."
With a chuckle, I replied "We'll just cross that bridge when we come to it."

Sandy saddled back up, then pulled out the map again.  "Sonic, where do ya think we should go next?  Salt City, or the next town on the sheriff's list, Brownwood?"
I responded "Think of how far north we had to come, just to get across the river gorge.  We'd have to head all the way back south again and then east, if you wanted to see Salt City for yourself.  But I've already been there and I told you everything I saw.  I don't think it's worth the time."
I asked to see the map, which was getting harder to read as the light was fading, and tried remembering just how many bends of the river we'd skirted in an attempt to estimate our current location.  After that, I looked at the location of Brownwood and figured out the general direction we'd have to travel to get there.  Unfortunately, there was a mountain range blocking our way (which I could see in the distance, not too far away), but the map seemed to suggest there was a natural pass a little ways south, so I told Sandy of my plan and she had no objections.
"I guess we're going back south.  Let's see if we can reach the entrance to that pass before nightfall," she affirmed.

We continued southeast for about a half hour more, making use of the disappearing daylight.  Both Sandy's horse and I were taking it at a slower pace than before, clearly wearing down from all the distance.  We didn't make it all the way to the mountain pass, but when we passed a prominent outcrop of rock, Sandy said it was time to call it quits for the night.  So we came to a stop and Sandy dismounted again, walking a bit funny from being on a horse all afternoon.
"Sonic, see if you can find some sticks or some dry brush we can use to build a fire.  I've gotta go see a fellow about some horses."
Confused, I asked "Really?  Who are you gonna meet out here at this time of--"
Sandy turned around again and said "It's a figger of speech, Sonic.  Just...find stuff for a fire.  I'll be back in a minute."

I still didn't understand as I watched Sandy walk around the outcrop, but in the meantime I did have something to do, so I looked for sticks, dry brush, and other objects I thought would burn really well.  When she returned a short time later, I showed her the pile of stuff I'd collected.
"This will work," she said as she dug into one of her bags and pulled out a small metal rod and a piece of sharp-edged stone.  Before I could ask what she was going to do with those, she sat down in front of the pile and struck the stone against the rod repeatedly until it kicked off sparks.  I lost count of how many attempts it took before there were glowing embers in the dry brush.  Then, by blowing on the embers, Sandy got them to burn hot enough to catch the rest of the brush on fire, which in turn ignited the sticks and other combustibles in the pile.

After that, she put those materials away, and from another bag, pulled out something I couldn't identify, even after she handed some of it to me: two large, square, flat objects, and a couple of loose, crumbly items.
"Hardtack and dried beef strips," explained Sandy.  "Eat up.  You'll need your strength tomorrow."
I bit into one of the hardtack squares, or at least I tried to...I felt like I would break my teeth!  I had no idea how someone was supposed to eat this stuff, until I saw Sandy pour a little water on it first from her metal canteen.  I followed her example, and somehow I got it all down without gagging -- it was completely tasteless.  The dried beef was a little more palatable, but I still had to drink a lot of water so it wouldn't get stuck in my throat.
"Take it easy with that water, Sonic," Sandy advised.  "We'll have to look for clean water sources tomorrow so we can keep these canteens full."

Once we both got something in our stomachs, we finally had an opportunity to relax.
"So, Sonic, I know a lot has happened.  First you wandered into town and suddenly everybody thought you were our sheriff.  Then that gov'mint fella came with the news 'bout our town being taken right out from under our feet, and now we're both out here in the desert, chasin' down an investigation the sheriff had been hidin' from us.  I sure didn't picture any of that happenin' to us when I woke up this mornin'."
Neither had I, I thought.  And she was right -- all of this, surprisingly enough, had happened within the span of one day.
She continued: "Everyone in Whispering Gulch saddled you with a lot of responsibility.  But when I think about it, I really don't know all that much about ya.  I don't know where yer from, why ya came to our town, and why ya act so strange, like ya ain't from around here.  Are you from one of them big cities back East?"

I knew she wouldn't believe the truth about me coming from the future, so I thought carefully about how to answer her questions in a way she'd accept.
"Well, I come from a little town called Knothole, out in the middle of a big pine forest.  It's bigger than Whispering Gulch, but it's definitely no big city.  I've got a few friends there, like a chipmunk named Sally Acorn, who looks a bit like you; and Tails, who's like Miles but younger, brown, and with two tails instead of one..."
I continued talking about the rest of the familiar faces back home, but on the mention of "Freedom Fighters," Sandy asked "Do y'all have a problem with layin' down the law back in Knothole?  Got problems with cattle rustlers or bandits?  Doesn't sound like it's out in the badlands to me."
"No," I explained.  "We formed the Freedom Fighter group a long time ago, and it seems we're having to fight all the time."  Sandy was clearly interested, so I added "There's a...let's call him a mad scientist, by the name of Dr. Robotnik."
"Science?" Sandy asked.  "Don't know much about science.  Why would he be a problem for y'all?"
"He's got this army of robo...let's just say he's got crazy ideas about taking over the world, and invents machines to help him do it.  And part of that involves destroying everything we hold dear, including us and our town.  That's why we fight."
"Takin' over the world with machines?  I don't see how someone could do it.  He is crazy!" Sandy exclaimed in disbelief.

Then it was my turn: "Why don't you tell me more about yourself, Sandy?  And Whispering Gulch.  How did both of you end up out here?"
"Whispering Gulch rose out of the rocks and sand nearly two years ago, I'd say.  Got a population of a little more than a hundred folks, and almost all of us pitched in to build the houses and shops that are there today."
I interrupted with "But what was the reason for it?  I understand why Salt City would've been built, but Whispering Gulch isn't anywhere near--"
"Hold your horses, Sonic...I'm gettin' to that.  Thanks to the gold rush that started in this territory 'bout 10 years ago, folks have been checkin' nearly every mountain and hill in hopes of finding more of the glittery stuff.  There's a mesa about a mile or so northwest of town, and a mine was built before the town was.  They kept up the diggin' for six months, but they didn't find any gold, or silver.  The miners did find a lot of iron ore, but nobody was gonna make money minin' that stuff, not with the price of iron back East and the cost of gettin' it shipped outta here.  So it's been sitting empty..."

Then she closed her eyes and fell silent.  I found it odd that she would cut out in the middle of her story, until she looked at me and sighed.  "I'd prefer not to talk any more about the mine.  It always reminds me of my husband."
That got my attention because she hadn't mentioned anything about being married up until this point.
She elaborated: "Willy used to work in the mines, along with a dozen others.  'Bout a year ago, he was on the job, moving a box of dynamite out of the tunnel after they finished placing charges to blast away some rock.  The fella who was helpin' him carry it tripped, and when the dynamite sticks tumbled out, they exploded...it killed 'em both..." She started sniffling.  "We buried an empty coffin because the undertaker couldn't even tell which pieces belonged to which person..."
Then she really started crying.  "Willy wasn't even feeling well that day.  I told him he shoulda stayed home, but he said they needed everyone on site that mornin'..."
I was honestly at a loss for words.  No wonder she doesn't like talking about the mine, or her husband.

In an attempt to change the subject, I then asked "What about Miles?  How'd he come to live with you?"
Sandy wiped the tears from her eyes, and answered "That family's got bad luck too.  Willy had a brother, Charlie, and Miles was his only son.  First, his wife left him for some rich businessman, and then on the day he went to the city to face his wife in court, some mugger held him up on the street.  He should've just given up the money in his wallet, but Charlie never could back down from a fight, and he paid for it with his life.  Miles was always real fond of Willy and me, so we signed the papers to take care of him until he got old enough."
"And now he's still back in Whispering Gulch.  Didn't he want to come along with us?"
"Yeah, he definitely wanted to, but I told him that if somethin' bad happened to us, I wanted to make sure it didn't get him too.  Besides, I couldn't close the saloon while I was out of town."
"You left a teenager in charge of a saloon?  Aren't you worried he's gonna drink all the--"
"I ain't worried.  His father was a drunk, and Miles swore he'd never let himself git that far gone.  He doesn't even like the taste of beer and whiskey.  He'll be just fine."

We talked for a little while longer, after which our little fire began to die down.
"Well," Sandy said as she stretched, "I reckon we oughta get some rest.  Still got a long way to go."
She scooped up a handful of sand and tossed it on the embers to extinguish them, then stood up to check on Petunia, who had apparently already fallen asleep.
I looked around and found a smooth rock nearby that was about the size of a pillow, so I pulled it close and lied down.  Sand and rock didn't make for the most comfortable of sleeping surfaces, but I knew I didn't have much choice.  I saw Sandy a short distance away, facing me, lying down and pulling her tail over her eyes like a sleeping mask.  I closed my eyes and let the sound of the gentle breezes lull me to sleep.
I certainly missed DeviantART during my Lenten hiatus, but thankfully during that time I was able to finish another chapter of The Last Frontier for you all!  (And this one's a pretty long one, but I think I cut it at a suitable spot.)  In this chapter, Sonic reports his findings at Salt City to Sam, Sandy, and Miles back in Whispering Gulch...and thanks to a little something Miles notices, Sonic and Sandy undertake a long journey to get to the bottom of the surprise letter from the government.

Will they find the answers they're looking for?  Is Whispering Gulch only seven days away from being erased from existence?  Be sure to check back for future chapters!



First chapter: fav.me/d8zbl41

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© 2016 - 2024 mjponso
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RobotPuppetmaster's avatar
Welcome back to DA! I was glad that you had a chapter to post after your hiatus. This is a long one, but I can see why. You're right when you say it ends at a suitable place. It seems like the events in this chapter belong in a chapter, if that makes any sense.

So much detail of the surrounding areas! I can picture the general landscape of the areas and towns as they travel and as you describe them. The world you describe sounds like it has a life of its own (even if a lot of the area is deserted). It has history. There were people there. Things happened.

Speaking of things, I like the mystery. It just gets more and more interesting. This was obviously a series matter if the mayor had already been making discoveries. But obviously it's very heavy that between then and now he *disappeared*. Poor Sonic. The fact that he gets himself into things like this and still wants to help out as much as he can really says a lot about his personality. I think it's very in character for him.

I really like Sandy as a character. She's got a little 'tude to her, but she's obviously a very caring and determined lady. Thinking of a comparison between Sally Acorn and her is subtle yet strong at the same time. She's got assertive, leader qualities to her as well as smarts in a way. I haven't stopped thinking about the way these characters are somewhat parallel to the main characters Sonic knows and loves. It makes me wonder if they're actually ancestors or something, but that's only guesswork. I'm sure I'll find out as the story goes on. :)

I'm looking forward to seeing what their destination ends up showing them. More clues about what's happening to the people in these areas? What the heck is going on? It's all very interesting and sounds like it could be a bit tragic. I mean, those are homes that are up and abandoned.

I suppose one of my favorite parts here would be where everyone was in a bit of disbelief about Sonic's speed, and then he proved it. I like imagining the surprise on people's faces when they see he really can go that fast. XD And the fact that Sandy had no argument when he said that he had already seen Salt City and it would be a waste to spend all that time going back there. She could have insisted, but it's obvious that he's earned at least enough trust to deem that unnecessary. Kind of touching, in a way.

Hopefully now that you're back on the net, another chapter will come a little quicker than last. But that's no rush or anything like that. I know the process takes time.

I think I remember you mentioning that you needed to research something while doing this chapter? Or maybe that was with something else... Either way, was there anything you needed to do some external research on here?

Nice work with the fanfiction so far, looking forward to more!