Chapter 5

Pashmina went through a box in the corner of the room that she, Dexter and Penelope were in, trying to find something useful. She wasn't sure what to think about all this, but she knew that Howdy was right, and they had to protect themselves. So far, though, there was a lack of suitable items that could be used as weapons…she found a small pillow, and considered it for a moment, before returning it to the box.

Dexter seemed to be having better luck. As Penelope watched over his shoulder, he found a safety pin, and popped it open. He experimentally ran the tip against the wall, leaving a long scratch, and nodded, "Well, it's better than nothing. Did you find anything, Pashmina?"

"No," she replied, frowning as she closed the box. "Nothing. Maybe I should just say close to you and Howdy; I'll be safer that way…"

"You've got to have something," Dexter insisted. He glanced around, and approached a shelf, pulling a plate from it, "Ah, here we go. You can throw this, can't you?"

He offered it to Pashmina, who took it, and said, "I guess so…"

"Ookyoo," Penelope said, looking sad. Pashmina looked down at her and gave a comforting smile, but she looked at the plate sadly, thinking, This was Sandy's…it just doesn't feel right somehow, using it as a weapon…but if I have to…

Noticing how sad she looked, Dexter said, "I know things don't look too good, but you'll be safe with us."

Pashmina nodded, lost in thought, and after a few seconds finally asked, "Dexter…you'd…never do anything to…hurt me…would you?"

"What?" he said, taken aback a little by the question, and answered, "No, of course not…I'd never let anything hurt you…" Pashmina smiled, and the two of them left the room together, with Penelope following close behind…

* * *

"Weapon…weapon…weapon…" Oxnard mumbled as he went through the small closet. He called out, "Will a paper clip work?"

"Probably not," Panda called back, as he went through the other junk in the room. "They aren't very sharp…"

"How about a push pin?" he asked, stepping out from the closet, holding what he had found.

Nodding, Panda said, "That's better. I wish I had time, I'd just build something." He resumed his own search and shook his head, "If only I could find the invention I built earlier…that'd make a great weapon…"

"What did you build?" Oxnard asked, curiously.

Panda sat down on a stool, scratching his head for a moment, then said, "I borrowed one of Maxwell's books on mechanics so that I could design a tool to make construction a little bit easier. More automated. That kind of thing. It was going to be a surprise, but it probably won't matter now. Especially since I can't even find it."

"Yeah…" Oxnard said, looking down at the push pin in his paws. He thought about the fact that he might have to use it to save his life, and it shook in his hands a little. "Panda? I-I don't know if I can do this…"

"Me either," Panda admitted, "but you have to do what you have to do." He looked down at the stool he was sitting on, then stood up and lifted it with his paws. "This could work…nice and heavy…"

* * *

"Another sewing needle?" Bijou said, looking a little disturbed. "After what happened with Maxwell…"

Hamtaro lifted the needle to take a closer look at it as they walked down the corridor, and said, "I know, but it's all I could think of…" He grasped it tightly and nodded, "Besides, I think it's the best thing we have."

They stopped at the room where Bijou kept her things, and she went inside. She came back out a moment later carrying one of her ribbons, and a bag with something else in it. Hamtaro looked oddly at the ribbon and said, "But…that's not…"

"Just watch…" Bijou said with a smile. She held both ends of the ribbon together, then reached into the bag and pulled a small rock out. Placing the rock into the center of the ribbon, she lifted it above her head and swung it around a few times…Hamtaro quickly ducked to avoid getting hit by it. After another big swing, she flung the rock out…it hit the side of the wall, leaving a nice dent.

"Wow…" Hamtaro said, impressed. "That's great!"

"Thank you!" Bijou said, walking over and retrieving the rock. "Zis will make a good weapon, non?" Hamtaro could only nod in agreement, picking himself up sheepishly from the ground. Her weapon's even better than mine is, Hamtaro thought. Well, with the two of us, we should do a pretty good job…

* * *

Everyone must have been confident that their weapons would help protect them, because they didn't all gather back to the center room. Some of them decided it'd be safer to stick near the deeper parts of the clubhouse, which would make it harder for the HamWraith to get to them. Hamtaro laid on his back in one room, staring up and counting the cracks in the ceiling, his sewing needle next to him where he can grab it at a moment's notice.

Panda stuck his head in the room and asked, "Hamtaro? Are you busy?"

"Not really," Hamtaro answered, looking over at the doorway. "Why?"

"I'm still trying to find my invention," Panda said, walking inside, still carrying the stool with him. "I was wondering if you could help me look…"

Hamtaro sat up, "Well, what does it look like?"

"It's made of metal," he described carefully. "Four big metal bars sticking out from the center, kind of like a metal spider with four legs."

"How big is it?" Hamtaro asked.

He thought about that and said, "I guess pretty big. It folds up about to my height, but unfolded, it's huge, like taller than Boss."

"Hmm," Hamtaro said, "What's it for?"

"You get into the center and put your arms and legs in it," Panda told him. "It's for carrying heavy things around. I could pick up and move big rocks with it, not to mention reach things that are very high…it's a perfect tool for construction. But I think in a pinch, it could help us fight the HamWraith. If only I could figure out where I put it…"

"It sounds like it," Hamtaro nodded. "Where did you see it last?"

Panda pointed back outside, "Right on the center table, by Snoozer."

"Maybe someone put it away for you," Hamtaro suggested.

"Let's go check the closets then," Panda said, and Hamtaro got up, picking up his sewing needle and taking it with him as they went out into the corridor. "You know, the other Ham-Hams have been acting a little strange around me lately…" Panda said as they walked.

"Like what?" Hamtaro asked.

"Well, it's like they don't trust me…" he said. "I asked Pashmina to help me look, and she said she didn't want to go looking alone…even though I would be there…"

Hamtaro looked at him and said, "Maybe it's because you were never around when the HamWraith struck. The whole thing you said about the monster being one of us. I think you made a couple of them scared."

"Yes, but why do they think it's me?" Panda exclaimed as they stopped at one of the doors. "If it was me, why would I even bring up that idea? You weren't seen with it either…neither was Bijou, or Boss, or any of them…"

Hamtaro said, "Don't let it get to you, Panda. They're just nervous right now."

Panda opened the door that lead into the darkened storage room, and turned to Hamtaro, "It's probably not one of us anyway. I was just making a suggestion."

"Yeah," Hamtaro said. "We'd never do anything like that."

Panda nodded…and then suddenly gasped, his breath choking in his throat. Something had just emerged from his chest…a long, blood-soaked claw. Hamtaro's jaw dropped, but he was too shocked to speak, although he stumbled back a step. Behind Panda, in the closet, he saw a pair of yellow eyes in the dark. Panda was tensed up, staring down at the claw coming out of his chest, and sputtered, "H-…Ham…ta…r…"

Hamtaro fell back a few more steps as the HamWraith emerged from the storage room, ducking down to squeeze through the doorway. It lifted its arm up, lifting Panda with it, still impaled on the claw. Now that it was in the light of the hallway, Hamtaro could see it clearly for the first time. The fur on it was thick and spiky, a strange greenish-black color like nothing he'd ever seen before. The ears on it were long and pointy, and a row of sharp teeth ran around the front of its head, tightly clamped in an eternal snarling grin.

Losing his footing, Hamtaro fell down, and could only watch in horror at the monstrous creature…Panda kicked wildly from his claw, trying to get free. The HamWraith reached over with its other claw, grasping Panda's head with it, and pulled in opposite directions, ripping him in two. A spray of blood splattered across the walls and floor, and some of it onto Hamtaro, but he didn't even notice…he was frozen in terror now, and couldn't so much as make a sound, his eyes locked onto the horrible scene in front of him.

As the HamWraith tossed the two halves of Panda aside, Hamtaro realized that he was still holding his sewing needle…but he knew it wouldn't do much against a beast like this. He knew he was going to die, and he was scared, more scared than he had ever been in his life…

The beast stared at him silently for a few moments, doing nothing, like it was savoring his fear. It took a slow step towards him, but then stopped, cocking its head to the side like it was listening. Hamtaro could hear feet approaching from the distance, and the faint sound of "*Chick-ah-Chick-ah-Chick-ah-Chick-ah*…" The beast turned down the opposite direction of the corridor and ran off, moving surprisingly fast for something of it's size. Hamtaro still didn't move from the spot, still didn't even stop staring at the place where it had stood a moment before.

Boss and Howdy came running down from the other direction. They both cringed at the ghastly sight of Panda, and ran over to Hamtaro. Boss nudged him with his shovel, and said, "Kid! You all right?!"

"I…I…" Hamtaro finally stuttered. Boss called for some more help, as Howdy lifted him back to his feet. Hamtaro was still in a state of shock… The HamWraith, he thought…It's inside the clubhouse…it can go wherever it wants…and it's so huge…we can't stop it…none of us can stop it…it's going to kill us all, one by one…

TO BE CONTINUED…