Chapter 7

"…and you found Boss buried there?!" Howdy said, flabbergasted. Dexter and Oxnard both quickly nodded, confirming the explanation they just gave to everyone. As everyone gasped at the bad news, Howdy continued, "Well then, this changes everything, don't it?"

"What do you mean?" Bijou asked,

Howdy looked over at her and explained, "Well, if the HamWraith was out there, and Hamtaro's locked up in here, then he can't possibly be the HamWraith, can he? I guess I owe him an apology…"

"That's right," Pashmina said. "But…we're all here, and none of us left…which means that it can't be any of us. So that means that…that the monster…i-is real?"

Penelope listened to all this, and looked frightened…then her ears perked up as she heard a sound by the door. Turning curiously towards it, she wandered away from the others, whispering to herself, "Ookyoo?"

They didn't notice her…instead, they continued their conversation. "If the HamWraith's real," Dexter said, "then how on Earth are we going to stop it? We've tried everything we can think of, and nothing's working!"

Bijou shook her head, "Right now, we must try to stay together…zis thing must have a weakness, and it is only a matter of time before we find it…"

"We d-don't exactly h-have a lot of t-time…" Oxnard stammered. He was shaking non-stop now, he was so afraid. "Th-there's only…what, s-seven of us left?"

"Eight," Pashmina corrected him, pointing to Snoozer, still on the table. "But it's not enough, we need…to…" She trailed off, and looked over to Penelope, who was next to the front door, pressing her ear up against it. "Penelope, what's wrong?"

"Ooky-…" she started to say, but then the door suddenly flung open, knocking her away from the door and onto the ground. Everyone stared in shock as the HamWraith emerged into the room, ducking low to make it through the small opening…once inside, though, it stood back up to it's full menacing height. Penelope was dazed a little from her fall, but recovered, and looked up at the beast towering over her, which gazed down at her at the same time.

Pashmina yelled, "Penelope, no!" Before she could move, though, the HamWraith lifted one of its feet and brought it down hard, right onto her. The force of the impact crushed her instantly, blood spraying out across the floor in all directions. It then lifted it's head up to stare back at them with its horrible yellow eyes. Pashmina was in total shock…No, she thought, not Penelope, she can't be…!

"Run!" Dexter yelled, and everyone immediately scattered away from the table as fast as they could. Pashmina took a moment to snap out of her horrified trance, and turned to run as fast as she could, as well. She suddenly realized she was going a different direction than the others, but the HamWraith was approaching the table, and it was no longer safe to go back, so she continued to run. The HamWraith watched her go…it glanced down at Snoozer, still lying asleep on the table, as though considering, then glanced back in the direction Pashmina had run.

Inside the closet, Hamtaro pressed his ear against the door, and heard everything…he clenched his teeth and scrambled back, as far from the door as he could, pressing his back up against the wall and covering his mouth to keep quiet, thinking, No please, don't look in here…don't look in here… He hoped that it wouldn't because if he did, there was nowhere for him to run or hide…he'd be dead for sure…

The others made it halfway down one of the corridors, before Howdy skidded to a halt and said, "Hold on! Pashmina went the other way…"

"And we forgot Snoozer!" Oxnard exclaimed.

"And Hamtaro!" Bijou gasped. "He is still locked in ze closet! We need to go back…"

Before she could move, though, Dexter blocked her off and said, "We can't go that way! We have to hope that the HamWraith leaves them alone! This way loops back around, so we'll run into Pashmina if we go all the way around, okay?" Bijou looked uncertain, but she slowly nodded.

"Then let's move!" Howdy ordered, and everyone hurried as fast as they could, checking their weapons as they went. Howdy grasped his broom tightly…Faithful broom, he thought, just help me take care of this one last mess, and I won't ask anything of you again… Dexter had his safety pin ready, and Bijou already prepared a rock in her ribbon sling. Oxnard's seed was tucked safely under his ear so he wouldn't lose it, and he gripped his push pin with trembling paws.

They eventually made it all the way around, and started moving more cautiously, hoping not to accidentally run into danger. As they approached one of the last doors, they heard heavy footsteps on the other side. They all stayed as quiet as they could, and listened…the footsteps continued, and got fainter, as the HamWraith left in the opposite direction. Dexter waited until he couldn't hear it anymore, then said, "It's clear, let's go…"

He swung the door open, but as he entered, threw his paws up over his mouth, as he saw something unexpected…Howdy was equally shocked, as were the others. Pashmina was dangling in the middle of the room…her precious pink scarf had been tightened around her neck, with the other end secured to a small support beam on the ceiling. She swayed slowly, but despite the movement, they could tell by her blank stare that she was already dead…

"Oh no…no!" Dexter cried out, running over and grasping one of her legs, hugging it tearfully, "Pashmina…n-no…" The broom fell from Howdy's hands, and he collapsed to his knees, burying his face in his hands. Bijou and Oxnard both turned away from the sight, not wanting to see it anymore.

Looking up suddenly, Howdy's expression turned to one of anger, and even though tears still filled his eyes, he grabbed the broom and got back to his feet. Dexter looked over at him, also looking upset, and he could tell that they were both thinking the same thing. He lifted his safety pin up into a ready position and said, "Let's go."

Howdy nodded, and both he and Dexter started for one of the other open doors leading from the room. Oxnard glanced back at them and said, "Wh-where are you g-going?"

Dexter didn't turn back, but kept walking as he said, "It's not getting away with this. We're not going to run anymore…"

"Yeah, we're going to fight it." Howdy said with added determination. "If we don't come back, it's up to you to get Hamtaro and Snoozer to safety, okay?" Bijou hesitated, then nodded, and the two of them left to chase down their enemy. Oxnard and Bijou both picked another door to leave…Oxnard gave Pashmina one last glance, biting his lip, then left the room.

The corridor that Howdy and Dexter went into was dark…it split in two separate directions, and they knew it looped all the way around. Dexter looked at Howdy and nodded…they knew what to do. Splitting up, they each took a different path…All right, Dexter thought, we'll have him cornered from both sides. There's no running away this time, HamWraith!

He followed the corridor gradually, walking slowly and peeking into each room he passed. There was no sign of him anywhere…eventually he got to a corner, and carefully peeked his head around it. Stifling a gasp, he pulled his head back a little further…it was there, in the middle of the next hall, standing still with its back facing him. He stopped looking around the corner, pulling back to a safe position and examining the safety pin in his hands. Okay, you can do this, he thought…Just sneak up behind while he's not looking, and…

There was a sound, like he had ripped one of the doors from its hinges. Cringing, he waited, listening carefully to hear if it was leaving or not. After what seemed like a minute, he heard footsteps…it sounded like it was moving closer, slowly, like it was sneaking. But I hear you, he thought…grasping the safety pin tighter, he clenched his teeth and waited, listening as the steps got closer. In another few moments, it was going to turn the corner…prepping himself, he knew this was his one chance…

It reached the corner, and without the slightest hesitation, Dexter yelled and swung the safety pun around the corner as hard as he could…it struck its target, sinking deeply into its fur…but it took him a moment in the dim light to realize his mistake. Howdy choked, the broom dropping out of his hands, and clutched wildly at the pin that was now impaled directly through his throat…Dexter stared, horrified, and cried out, "NO!!"

Before Dexter could do anything else, one of the HamWraith's claws burst out of the wall next to him, and clamped tightly around his neck. He tried to scream for help, but couldn't breathe, much like Howdy, who had fallen onto his back, trying unsuccessfully to pull the pin free. In the next moment, the claw twisted slightly and tightened, snapping Dexter neck and spine in one simple move…it released, dropping him in a heap on the ground. Howdy gave a few last kicks, then gradually became still. The eyes of the HamWraith appeared momentarily at the hole it made in the wall, as though to make sure they were dead, then vanished as the creature went on the move again…

* * *

Hamtaro never took his eyes off the door, even though it was pitch black. He knew that at any moment, the HamWraith could burst in, and it would all be over. Listening to every little sound, he waited…waited to see if he was going to live, or if he was going to die…

A rough thump made him jump…his heart beat faster as he realized that the chair was just pushed away from the door. He tensed up as the door opened, light spilling back into the room…he couldn't make out what it was, but instead of one large shape, it was two smaller shapes…

Bijou called out, "Come on, Hamtaro! We need to get out of here!" Oxnard, next to her, nodded vigorously.

His relief at seeing them was immense, and he quickly scampered out from the closet, "Oh, thank goodness! I thought I was a goner!" He glanced around, but besides the two of them, only saw Snoozer, on the table where he last saw him. He didn't need to ask about Penelope, since he grimly saw what was left of her, by the front door, but he asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"Pashmina's…" Bijou started to say, then closed her eyes.

He knew what that meant…she was dead, too. Taking a deep breath, he said, "What about Howdy and Dexter?"

"They w-went after the H-HamWraith…" Oxnard said, pointing a shaking paw off at one of the doors, "b-but they're not back yet…I-I don't…think they…"

"We can hope for the best," Hamtaro said. He hurried over to the table, picking up his sewing needle that Boss had left there, and said, "Listen, guys, somewhere in here, there's an invention that Panda made…he told me about it before the HamWraith got him. From the sound of it, we could use it to fight this thing, but we have to figure out where it is. This could be our best chance, so I say we look for it. What do you say?'

Bijou waited a few seconds, then nodded, "Yes, let's find it. If zis is our best chance, zen we should take it." Oxnard nodded as well. Narrowing his eyes with determination, Hamtaro grabbed hold of Snoozer's sock and started dragging him off in the direction of the nearest door so they could begin their search. Oxnard and Bijou quickly helped him, and the three made their way off further into the clubhouse, to look for their last hope, the one thing that could still give them an edge over the HamWraith, if they could only find it in time…

TO BE CONTINUED…