The temperatures were skyrocketing this sweltering summer day as a heat dome came to a screeching halt over the region, the dangerous heat further amplified by the city streets. Life around Azure Lake had always been comfortable, even during the peak of the summer season, thanks largely in part to the chilly waters of the zone’s namesake moderating the otherwise oppressive season.
But here in the city, surrounded by concrete and tarmac? Forget about it. Add a weather anomaly on top of it all, and you have a recipe for nastiness.
Despite it all, the city kept chugging on. People were going about their day as they otherwise would have, albeit at a slower pace.
“Not even the heat and humidity in Kong Jungle was this brutal,” Laik said to no one in particular. His goal was to make it out of the city, and as much as he wanted to break out into a run and hit a few of the springboards and grind rails, he knew the exertion would just put him in harm’s way. Hardly anyone was using the uniquely Mobian modes of fast travel.
Walking along, the wolf came up on a small gift shop. Inside, the shelves of wire racks were piled with various trinkets, ranging from portable barrier monitors, mock chaos emeralds—including a giant Master Emerald bean bag chair—that sat on the floor with a large price tag sign taped to it.
“Oh, I can only imagine what Knuckles must think of this…”
“Now leaving Central City,” was painted on the huge, steel sign hanging high above one of the many highways going in and out of the city. Vehicles of all types were moving in both directions, ranging from civilian types to clean-up trucks full of busted Badniks to military vehicles.
Immediately, the air felt cleaner, somewhat cooler as Laik stepped out onto the grass on the side of the road. The large, sprawling city stretched out into the distance behind him, along with all the sounds and distractions that came with it.
Checking the contents of the rucksack flung around his shoulder and confirming his bo staff was secured firmly, he flung the pack over his shoulder and stretched his legs, then his shoulders. He hadn’t had a good run in forever, and in this heat, he wanted to be sure his body was ready to go at full speed without any hindrances between here and his destination: A huge lake off in the distance.
“Couldn’t be no more than a five-minute run, tops,” He thought as he fell into the crouching starting position. “Gotta go—“
“Stop right there, wolf!”
That voice… “What I do now?” Laik said, turning to face Lanolin. She sat atop a humming motorcycle, aviator goggles covering her eyes and an orange, dome-shaped helmet strapped to her head. How had he not heard the noisy contraption as it pulled up on him?
“Oh, hey, Lanolin… What’s… up?”
The sheep wasn’t wearing her usual attire. Gone was the orange tank top, green cargo pants and heavy boots. She stood beside her bike, having replaced the goggles and helmet temporarily. She crossed her arms in front of her prominent chest and said, “What are you up to?” A brow cocked as she spoke. “You do realize that there’s an extreme heat warning in place, right?”
“Of course I do,” He lied. “I’m heading to the lake for some fishing; it’ll be cooler there… What are you doing, stalking me anyway?”
“’Stalking’ you? If I were stalking you, which I must add isn’t particularly a bad idea considering your tendency to leave this universe and all that, I wouldn’t be doing so on this old, noisy bike and in my casuals.” She spread her arms, exposing her ensemble in full for the first time.
She wore a bright orange dress with large yellow circles patterned across it. It was sleeveless, hugging her chest tightly and further accentuating her features. At her waist was a thick brown belt with which her bell had been attached. She wore black biker shorts that stopped at her knees and a pair of seafoam green full-toe outdoor sandals. Topping it off was a pair of blue-tented round sunglasses.
“Besides, we have a particular bat in our midst that is far more capable of such missions. No, I’m just taking a day off, and just so happened to be taking my old bike out for a ride across open country. You know, to decompress. That’s when I saw your stupid face on the roadside.” She walked up to the wolf so that they wouldn’t have to speak as loud due to the coming and going of nearby traffic.
“So you fish, huh? Is it hard?”
Laik felt the same feeling he got after the nightmare with Lanolin-Thing. Not the feeling of dread or foreboding, but the other one. The feeling that he couldn’t describe, but was positive it was a good one, despite only having felt it in the dream.
“It’s not. I mean, it can be in the beginning when you’re learning all of the ins and outs. And then later, once you start targeting bigger fish… Oh, and then there’s—“
“I get it,” she waved a hand dismissively. “I get it, like anything, it takes practice… You know what? Now that you’ve made that comment about stalking you, you’ve piqued my curiosity. Is this your first time out of the city since you got back?”
Laik nodded.
“All right. I’m going with you then, just to keep an eye on you.” She said, returning to her bike.
“N-no, that’s not necessary! I promise I was only going fishing. It’s your day off, you don’t need to spend it—“ The rev of the bike’s engine cutting him off.
“Lead the way, wolf.”
He exhaled. Unless he moved out of the city, this was likely to be his life. Lanolin didn’t trust him; that much was clear. Didn’t even seem to like him very much either, which made the whole situation all the more awkward.
“All right,” he lamented, “Just try and keep up, okay? That thing looks like it’d fall apart at the slightest jostle.”
“Eh? ‘Try to keep up, ’ this guy says! What a rip. You’re not Sonic the Hedgehog, and don’t go insulting my bike. It may be older than you are, but I assure you, it’s way more of a beast than you could ever hope to be.”
“Yeah, yeah. You have no idea, lady…” He said, falling back into his crouching start position. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”
Lanolin swerved her bike around, lining up beside Laik as he readied himself. Revving the engine a few times, she glanced over at the wolf through her aviator goggles and smirked. “Ready to eat my dust, wolf?”
Laik did not answer. He counted to three. And on one, they both exploded in a burst of forward motion from the starting line, kicking up dirt, rock and other debris as they headed down the bike trail at a ridiculous speed.
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