Chapter 2

Hamtaro whistled aimlessly as he finished the slow task of pulling Snoozer into the clubhouse and hefting him up onto the table in the center. Wiping his forehead for a moment, he muttered, "Whew…there you go." He glanced around and called out, "Panda? Maxwell? Are you here?"

There was no reply for a few seconds, but then they both poked their heads out from doorways in two separate parts of the clubhouse, and came running out for the table where Hamtaro was. Panda said, "Hey! Have you seen anything strange lying around? I was building something, but I think I lost it, and now I can't find it…"

"No, I haven't seen anything," Hamtaro said with a shrug. "What did you lose?"

"I can't tell you, it's a secret project," Panda said, inspecting the corners of the room as he approached the table. He hung his head a little, "Maxwell and I have been looking all over for it, but we just can't find it…"

Maxwell made it over to the table also, and said, "Maybe if I knew what it looked like, it'd be easier to find…"

"Hmm," Hamtaro said, rubbing his chin, "I wonder if the HamWraith took it…"

"HamWraith?" Maxwell and Panda asked together.

Nodding, Hamtaro explained, "Yeah…Boss was telling us a story out by the campfire about a monster that used to live around here…you should have been there to hear it, it was really scary!"

"HamWraith, hm? I've read something about it once…" Maxwell said, trying to recall what it was.

"Really?" Hamtaro said, feeling a little more frightened. "You mean, he really existed?"

"Not really," Maxwell said, shaking his head. "It was just a story that they used to tell around here to frighten people…a story about a giant Ham-Ham with claws, right?"

"Right," Hamtaro said.

Panda took a seat at the table and rested his head in his hands, "I want my invention back…it was going to be a big surprise…"

"Don't worry, it'll turn up," Maxwell assured him. "I'll keep looking to see if I can find it. Maybe you left it outside somewhere, and…"

Maxwell was interrupted by Oxnard bursting in through the door. He shouted, "Guys! Someone needs help! I heard someone yelling outside, and it sounded like Bijou!"

"Bijou's in trouble?" Hamtaro exclaimed.

"Let's get going!" Panda said, and the three Ham-Hams at the table quickly got up and rushed for the door. They started running together with Oxnard from the clubhouse along the edge of the bushes, "*Chick-ah-chick-ah-chick-ah-chick-ah*," in the direction Bijou had left. Looking up ahead of them, Hamtaro thought, I don't see her…where did she go?

"Stop!" Maxwell said, skidding to a halt, and the other Ham-Hams quickly followed suit. He peered at the ground near one part of the bushes, at a pool of something thick and red, barely visible in the dim light.

"What is it?" Panda asked.

Maxwell stared at it, "I don't know, I've never seen anything like it…"

"Is it candy?" Oxnard wondered aloud.

Hamtaro bravely knelt down and touched it, taking a closer look, "It's sticky…hey, I think I've seen this before!"

"You have?" Maxwell asked. "Where?"

"A couple of weeks ago," Hamtaro told them, "I was climbing up the bars of my cage back in Laura's room, just to see if I could make it up to the top from inside. I almost made it, when I slipped and fell, and I cut my paw on the bars on the way down. I remember this same thing coming from the cut, and Laura came over…she said, 'Oh my gosh, Hamtaro, you're bleeding,' and quickly wrapped a little piece of cloth around my paw to stop it."

"Bleeding?" Maxwell repeated, then snapped his fingers, "Wait…blood! Yes, I have read something about that…" He quickly flipped open his book to look it up again.

Oxnard walked up to the puddle of blood and looked at it nervously, "That's a lot of it…how many cuts would it take to make that much?"

"A lot," Hamtaro said. "I hope no one's hurt…" He examined the blood again, and noticed that it lead off in a trail, out of the light, towards the bushes. "Hey, it leads off this way…c'mon!" He started following it.

Oxnard stayed where he was, though, and shook his head, "Uh, Hamtaro…I'm not so sure this is a good idea…"

"Yeah, we still have to find Bijou," Panda reminded him.

Hamtaro was about to tell them it'd be all right, when they heard something coming, and turned to look. Boss was running over to where they were, with Cappy and Sandy following him. "I thought I heard somewhat shouting," Boss said as he approached. "What's goin' on?"

Maxwell looked up from his book and said, "We came out to find Bijou, but all we found was this…" He indicated the puddle of blood.

Boss took one look at the blood, and gasped, tightening his grip on his shovel, "Th…that's…" It was hard to tell in the dim light, but Hamtaro could swear he was turning a little white. They didn't realize that he knew just what the presence of the blood really meant…

"It leads off this way," Hamtaro said, following the trail again. "It looks like it went into the bushes…"

"No, wait!" Boss exclaimed, "It's too dangerous!"

"I'll be okay," Hamtaro said, heading up to the edge of the bushes and brushing some of the leaves aside as he worked his way inside. "It's just the bushes, there's nothing wrong…"

When he brushed aside the next clump of leaves, though, he yelled in surprise, "Waaah!" The trail of blood on the ground stopped at this point. Lying on his back there was Stan…three gaping holes were in his chest, and blood was slowly trickling down from them, across his fur, collecting in a larger puddle around him. His mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were glazed over, not focusing on anything. He was lying still, far too still…

"What's wrong?" Boss said, rushing up next to Hamtaro…when he saw Stan, he froze in place, shocked speechless. The other Ham-Hams made their way over to see what was happening as well, and they gasped in fright as well. Boss finally managed to speak up, and stammered, "H-he's…he's…d…dead…"

"D-dead?" Sandy whispered, in disbelief, "Y-you mean, like…gone?" Boss nodded grimly.

"Oh no…" Cappy said, swallowing and nervously clutching his hat tighter. Sandy shook as she looked at Stan's body, her eyes filling with tears, until finally, she turned away, crying onto Maxwell's shoulder. He put his arms around her, hugging her tightly in comfort.

Oxnard looked away from the sight, too, and whispered, "What…happened…?"

"I…I don't know," Maxwell said, furiously thinking. "Maybe it was a cat, or…"

"Shh, listen!" Boss said, waving a hand to quiet everyone down. They all listened intently to whatever Boss had heard, afraid that maybe whatever it was had come back. They heard another sound in the distance, though, like someone weeping, and all of them started to slowly move in that direction to check it out. It was coming from a small pile of rocks between two of the bushes…

Hamtaro cautiously leaned over the edge to see what was behind it, and was startled to see Bijou there, wedged in a little crack between two of the rocks, with her eyes clenched shut tightly, trembling and very quietly whimpering. "Hey," Hamtaro said softly, "Bijou…it's us…"

She opened an eye carefully, and when she saw it was Hamtaro, she looked relieved, "Oh…thank goodness!" She pulled herself out from the rocks, as the others came around, and said, "I was so scared!"

"You're safe now," Boss asked. "Are you all right, Bijou?"

"I-I'm okay," she replied, "but…but Stan…"

"We saw," Panda said, grimly. "What…happened to him?"

Bijou took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and said, "It was ze HamWraith…" Everyone gasped, and she continued, "Ze one from Boss' story, I am sure of it! He was tall, with ze huge claws, and…and he…"

"Whaa?" Boss said, even more shaken than before, "Y-you mean, there actually is a HamWraith?! I thought it was just a story too! I was just tryin' ta scare you guys!"

"Well, i-it worked," Oxnard said, glancing around nervously, "I'm p-pretty scared right now…"

"Me too," Hamtaro admitted, "but we've gotta try and stay together…"

Boss looked down at him, then back at the group, narrowing his eyes, "The kid's right. If this thing comes back, we've gotta be ready for it. Everyone, back to the clubhouse! We'll be safer there…" The Ham-Hams all nodded quickly, and they all left the bushes, heading back, although most of them were staring into the bushes nervously, as though afraid the monster would show again at any moment.

As they walked back, Sandy stared at the ground in front of her, hanging her head sadly…she cried, "I…can't believe…like…Stan's…"

"It's all right, Sandy," Maxwell said sympathetically. "I'll miss him too…but don't worry, you'll be safe as long as you stay together with the group, all right?" Sandy sniffed and nodded.

Bijou walked alongside Hamtaro, and asked fearfully, "Do you think ze HamWraith will come back?"

Hamtaro looked up at the night sky, and said, "I don't know…but I hope that if he does, we'll be ready for him…" They continued walking the rest of the way back…he glanced into the bushes, and for a moment, he thought he saw movement…but there was nothing. Just my imagination, he thought…I've never been so scared! I hope everything turns out all right...

TO BE CONTINUED…