Shadow dashed through the forest on his cool air shoes that made his look. He was only wearing gray baggy sweatpants in the dead of winter. Any regular person would call him crazy, although to be fair, Shadow didn’t have much of a choice. His pockets had been empty for days, and the last of his change he had spent on a twinkie that was long since digested.

The Ultimate Lifeform was more resistant to temperature and hunger than most, although it was getting to the point that it was wearing on him. After days alone in the outdoors, the temperature was just beginning to cut through all his fur into his very core. Of course, he didn’t feel very cold, although he could tell by his shaking hands that he was beginning to suffer from hypothermia.

He had had a decent job working at a barista, although his stupid self made everything go downhill. Coworkers had begun to gossip about him and his powers; they ridiculed him for trying to destroy the world at one point because of one measly little girl.

It was during his shift that the dreaded event occurred. He was pouring an old woman’s coffee when the one fox on his shift mentioned it so loudly that everyone heard. Immediately, Shadow fought back. He slammed the coffee to the ground and dashed over to put the employee in a choke hold up against the wall.

“Stop talking about her!” Shadow screamed, raising him high above his head. “I did that a long time ago! You don’t understand anything about the situation!”

He paused. Everyone in the coffee shop looked frightened. He lowered the fox whose name he didn’t care to remember and turned to pick the spilled coffee off the ground.

Rats. He had done it again, he thought at the time. Let his anger get the best of him. Sure, he was doing much better; in general, he was less violent, although when it came to Maria…

He had been fired, obviously, although at least they didn’t press charges. That was the only good thing that had happened. After he wasn’t able to pay rent, his landlord kicked him out immediately. Shadow knew that it was his temper that caused all these problems. Perhaps if he had acted kinder, his landlord would have let it slide until he could get another job.

It had been a few weeks since he lost everything. He had had enough saved to buy himself small meals from convenient stores, although now that had run dry. The weather had been unusually mild for December up until the last couple days, when the cold of winter swept over the land. Usually, he slept in the park or managed to hide on the grounds of the local college campus to get some sleep, although the cold weather was making this challenging. His prolonged exposure to negative wind chills was weakening him.

One would think he would be able to use his Chaos emerald, although he didn’t have it anymore. It had been confiscated by the Sonic team after he saved earth, so he couldn’t rely on it to get him to a warmer location. 

He was trying to warm up by going at such a high speed, although the frigid wind just stung his skin more. Part of him knew he’d need to crash at someone’s house, although no one he knew would ever trust him.

Shadow was coming near Amy’s house. She was probably the nicest person on the Sonic team. It was difficult to tell how genuine she really was, but no one else would give him a chance. He had a small connection to her, anyway, so maybe she’d let him spend a night.

He couldn’t believe himself. How low the Ultimate Lifeform had fallen! Homeless, Starving, freezing his tail off with hypothermia–thank goodness Sonic wasn’t there to see him!

Shadow stopped when he reached Amy’s dead flower bed. He hadn’t been very aware of his body until just then, but his head was throbbing and his vision was blurry. It was difficult to focus his eyes. Yes, the dark of night may have contributed to his sight problems, although he knew deep down that it was more than just the environment around him.

“Shadow!” Amy exclaimed. He glanced up, although could only see a pink blob. The girl was getting out of a car right in front of the pathway.

It was difficult to hold his head up. His arms had never felt like this before. Heavy. Before he even knew what was happening, he heard the crack of his head hitting the pavement.