And We Left...

I hope he's not a werewolf too, that would be freaky.
I shook my head. He isn't, I would know the scent if he was.
Good. But you do bring up an interesting point. Do you think he's afraid of fire?
I would think so, since he's adamantly refusing to do anything to make one.
Same here. I wonder if it's psychological. He does have the scar.
At this point I didn't really care. I was stuck with a shivering human in a cave in a snow storm. I turned for the entrance. That didn't mean I had to stay there though.
What? You can't just leave him!
And how else did you expect me to get him warm. I'm not curling up next to him like one of those housecats. "I'm going out."

That got a reaction from the human. He sat up straight. "What? It's snowing!"
I snorted. "like that would hinder me."
"You're just going to leave? Just like that?"
"I'm not going to sit around and listen to you shiver all night."
"I'm not shivering!"
"My ears don't lie, human. Get back further in the cave, you should stay warm enough there. If you can get over your fear, you'd get warmer still if you start a fire while I'm gone."

Catchya  on the Flip Side!

Danny

Frustration

I really wished that I could just take over. Trying to talk to Jake through my other self, had to be one of the more frustrating things ever.
I could tell that Jake was hiding something. Why else would he vehemently deny a fire? He wasn't even making the attempt to search for anything to start a spark.
The problem was, I couldn't ask him.
My other self was in control.
And as much as I wanted to fight back control and get to the bottom of this, and have Jake actually talk to me.
I had to stay nice with my other self. I had to live with him after all.

My other self had that right.
Glad you concur.
At least you aren't idiotic like the other humans....most of the time.
Oh, that's a compliment?
Somewhat. I studied the human. He refused fire. Admittedly, I didn't mind. Fire wasn't a wolf's best friend either. Maybe he was more like a wolf than I originally thought.

Catchya on the Flip Side!

Danny

He's Rather Stubborn

"Look, I have nothing to start a fire either." The human said, a hint of challenge in his voice. "Never have, probably never will."
"You must have something." I said stiffly.
A knife?
"Like a knife."
He hesitated a hair too long. "No, I don't."
I know understood why humans would throw their arms up in the air. Frustration. If he didn't want to get warm there wasn't anything I could do to convince him otherwise. "You do have a knife." I said flatly. "Make a fire with it."
"Look, Wolf guy. I don't want a fire! I did just fine spending a night in a hole. I think a little storm won't kill me either."

Catchya on the Flip Side!

Danny

"You wondered why we hadn't seen him recently? It's because he's been avoiding us!"
"It can't be that bad, Lisa."
"They were mobbing him, Mom! I could hear him from outside! And then, as soon as I made my presence known they all scattered to who knows where, acting like nothing had happened."
"It could have been a one--"
"No Mom," Lisa said firmly. "He has new wounds on top of old ones. For all I know they've been fighting every night since you switched him to this form."
"We would have noticed something before now if that was the case."
"Mom! His feet are swollen to twice if not thrice their normal size! Just look at him and tell me this is a one time occurrence."

I burrowed deeper into the towel. I really didn't want Madam Shan to see how bad I was, it was one thing to have Lisa know, but her?
It didn't help to try and hide, Lisa just picked up the whole nest and unwrapped it holding me out to her mother. I hunkered down, shaking slightly. I hadn't been this close to Madam Shan since I was a fish and there was a wall of glass separating us. To be honest, she looked scary. Her lips had thinned into a tight line, her eyes blazed with fury as she looked upon me. But her hands were just as gentle as Lisa's when she ran a hand slowly down my back, feeling the various wounds. "Roll over, Henry." She said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Unable to stop myself from whimpering, I did as she asked, rolling onto my back so my feet were exposed. It felt so unnatural.
If it was possible, her lips thinned even further. I nearly fell from Lisa's hands, when Madam Shan touched the paw that John had nearly taken a toe from, trying to get away from her, squeaking in pain.
She winced, which I didn't think was possible from her. "I hate to say it, but you're right. He looks like he's been through a shredder."
"What should we do? He can't go back! Would he even recover from this?"
"He'll recover, any injuries received here heal without a mark. He'll be fine." She tapped a finger to her lips. "Are you sure it was his group that attacked him?"
~It wasn't the--~
Lisa's glare cut me off. "I'm pretty sure, I know the markings for each one. They were all present."
~Lisa, It wasn't them~
~Shut up, Fishy Thief.~ Her eyes taking on the same cast of fury as her mothers. ~Why are you even protecting them?~

#Henry

No. A wave of dread washed through me. No, she couldn't do that. That would be the worst possible thing to happen to them. ~Give...give me a moment.~ I said shakily pushing myself up to my feet. Agony, it was like walking through lava. Each step felt worse then the last. With my feet slick with blood, it was difficult if not next to impossible to get a good grip on the tunnels, and I ended up slipping most of the way down towards the Isolation box. My ears twitched frantically as I caught faint scratches and squeaks, that mixed in with scents of other hamsters nearby, watching me. Getting out of this, now that I had been caught by Lisa, I didn't look forward to tonight.

~Where are you now?~ Lisa asked a while later. I actually had no idea how long I was taking, my mind had hazed with pain.
~Almos...Almost to Iso.~ I managed. It was too close to the main feeding area for my comfort, but it would mean Lisa would be able to see me easier, not that I wanted her to...much.
I pulled myself out of the last tunnel and heard her gasp aloud. I huddled there in front of the entry way, unable to stop shaking, to stop twitching.
~HENRY!~ The lid above me disappeared in a flash. "You look awful!" she said speaking out loud. Her hands reached down. "Come on let me see you, closer."
I shied away, not looking at her ~I'm fine.~
~You're fine, my foot. Get on my hand.~
~You'll get bloody.~
~Like I care about that!~
It had been worth a shot. I closed my eyes. ~Pick me up, I'm not sure I can move.~
That brought silence on her part. I winced, squeaking softly as one hand, gently and carefully came underneath me, the other hand covering me as she held me close to her chest. I felt a slight breeze as she walked through the store, holding me as steady as she could. The hand on top moved away, causing me to shiver, as I heard the click of a door opening and shutting. Nearby water began to flow.
"Here Henry." She startled me by speaking out loud in a soft voice. I opened my eyes to stare up into her worried face. "I need to wash the blood off. The water is warm."
She lowered me into a sink with walls tall enough to be cliffs. Gently she slid me into a pool of water that probably wasn't deeper than an inch or two, but deep enough for me.
"Try to hold still alright?" She said. "I'm not purposely going to hurt you, but there's enough matting and grime, not to mention blood! on you."
~I'll...try....~ I whispered, lifting a foot to try and relieve some of the pain that standing on it brought. It just made the other three throb worse in the warm water. I cried out when a shower of water suddenly hit me. Her hands gently scrubbed at my fur, carefully washing out my wounds. I twitched like a vibrating phone every time she came across one of the newer wounds, but I managed to keep quiet and for the most part still.
It wasn't until she finally moved to clean my feet that I freaked out. Even the slightest pressure had me screaming in pain. Lisa had to fight with me, not giving up even when I bit her. She ended up throwing a wash cloth over my head to keep me from attacking her and gripped my twisting body firmly with one hand while using the other to clean each paw one at a time.
"I'm almost done, Henry." her muffled voice said, tersely, just barely audible over my whimpers. "Just hang in there for a bit longer okay?"
Finally, mercifully, she stopped touching my feet and pulled me from out of the washcloth, tumbling me into a dry towel. Gently she moved the cloth, working to dry out my fur, making a little nest for me to huddle in when she was done.
"Just rest here okay, Henry?" She said placing the nest in an empty fish tank, placing a lamp on the lid over me that gave off heat. "I'll be back soon...I have to finish opening up the store. You'll be safe here."

Safe? I hadn't felt safe in forever. Wobbling slightly, I lifted my head, but Lisa had already left, the door clicking shut. I had no idea where she's placed me, but it was quiet, warm, and away from all the other hamsters. I burrowed into the blanket, relaxing more than I had in ages.

#Henry

Our world shook violently as something hit the box from below."HEY! STOP THAT! Get AWAY from HIM!" Lisa's voice cried out. "I'll double your sentences if you don't!"
John gave me one more vicious bite to my back leg before he, his stooges and my crew scattered.

I could barely walk, but I forced myself to scatter with them, following some up into the higher reaches of the tunnel system. Lisa couldn't know. She couldn't find out. Stay unnoticed.

I collapsed as soon as everyone else was out of sight, hiding in one of the darker colored tunnels, shaking like a leaf in a wind storm. My feet. Oh my feet felt like they were on fire.

Silence came from below, I couldn't hear Lisa, or any of the others. They were probably busy cleaning themselves to hide any traces of blood so she wouldn't be able to tell who was involved.

~Henry?~
I winced as her voice rang through my head. Busted.
~Are you okay?~
~I'm...I'm f-fine.~ I managed.
~You don't sound fine.~ She accused.
~What...can you expect? I just woke up.~
~Don't lie to me, Fishy Thief.~ She snapped. ~I know it was you in the middle of that! I recognized your markings. Come down where I can reach you.
~I told you I was fine!~ I snapped back, unable to stop myself from quivering. It had been bad. This time worse than others.
~If you don't come down here Now, I will tear this maze apart until I find you!~
~I'd love to see you try.~ I replied stubbornly. ~Leave it alone, Lisa.~ There were miles of tunnels here. She couldn't take the place apart and put it back together before the store opened.
~Henry~ she icily responded after a moment of silence. ~If you don't come down, I will be sure to convince my mom to quadruple every single one of your gang's sentence.~

#Henry

I knew it couldn't last forever.
They managed to trap me one night in one of the crossroad boxes, using the other hamsters to block off every possible escape route.
John and Sue, like usual were the first to mob me, using their smaller forms to dart around, tripping me up to allow Jess and Billy to get in and hold me down. Larry struck from all directions at once it seemed like, going for every reachable piece of skin, while the others focused on more specific locations. 
I fought back as best as I could, drawing blood on more than one occasion, though no where near the amount that they got from me.  I worked to stay quiet for as long as possible, to not squeak out in pain as that only seemed to encourage John to fight harder, but tonight they went for my paws.
"NO MORE RUN!" John yelled digging his teeth into the pads of my paw, nearly biting off one of my toes. 
"BAD ALPHA!" Sue screamed going for a back foot.
My squeaks of pain reached higher and higher pitches as Jess held down my head preventing me from being able to bite back. I struggled but with them holding my feed down, there wasn't much I could do.
"Stop! Sorry! No More! Please! Sorry! Stop!" I begged as my struggles weakened. "Bad Alpha. Bad. Stop! Fix! Please!" 
But they didn't listen. They never listened anymore. Please, the store had to be opening soon. I couldn't survive much longer. Please.

#Henry

I had to avoid Lisa.
As much as I liked talking with her, she couldn't grow suspicious that my group had turned against me. And if she found out that they were attacking me, I was sure that she would forcibly separate me from the group. Which would be bad. I had to be present, had to get through to the others if I were to convince them that John wasn't totally right about our predicament.
I could sense Lisa's disappointment whenever I caught sight of her below, looking about, for me, but there wasn't much I could do. One look, one hint, that I wasn't alright, and my chance at fixing this rift would be over.

John kept his word, which meant the others kept his word as well. If I did by chance encounter any of them during the day, they didn't attack, though by the way everyone's ears besides Billy's twitched, they sorely wanted to. I tried to take those opportunities when John wasn't around to get through to Sue, Larry, and Jess. But they refused to listen, squeaking at me that I was a "Bad Alpha." And all to soon, those encounters became rarer than rare. The group spent more and more time together, probably due to John's efforts to keep them on his side. Venturing into the communal grounds, where they were, was basically suicide. John had managed to not only become the Alpha of my group, but of all the hamsters. While they wouldn't hurt me, they would hinder me. Blocking me from any chance of getting to the others.

Which meant that I only saw them at night, when they attacked. And that made it very difficult to talk coherently to them when they were bent on tearing me to pieces.

I very quickly figured out the complex miles of tunnels running throughout the store, learning every single route like it was the back of my hand, well paw. It was only through this knowledge that allowed me to escape getting more injuries.
That didn't mean I was always successful in avoiding them throughout the night. At first it was easier, but as I got more difficult to catch, John became more bent on attacking me. The nights after the ones where I managed to stay hidden were always worse.
Billy did what he could to help me at first, leaving cheerios for me to eat when going to the communal grounds for food became more dangerous. But as John's hold tightened on my friends, he found it more difficult to get away. I ended up having to tell him to not take any risks and to stop helping me the one time we were almost caught together. Even with him gripping onto my crew like the power hungry tyrant he was, as time passed John loosened his restrictions on the other hamsters hurting me. They didn't participate in the actual fights, but that didn't stop them from destroying what little food I tried to hoard. That didn't stop them from guarding the various water towers, and making it a tunnel of pain to try and get a drink. That didn't stop them from preventing me from getting any real sleep during the day. That didn't stop them from blocking off my various routes, effectively pushing me into the path of my crew. They even helped to hide all evidence of my battle for survival by carrying water in their cheeks to wash away the blood that would inevitably cover the tunnels before the workers came in the morning.

My life had effectively become a nightmare. One where...as time went on with it only getting worse...I wasn't actually sure I would survive.

#Henry

I flicked my ears, shaking my head. "Bad End Soon. Wish. Hope." I actually had no idea when this animal thing would end, but since we'd all become hamsters....it had to be sooner rather than later. "Go Burrows Soon. Hope. Pack here. Pack Soon Leave. Soon." I said actually managing to sound encouraging, even to myself.
"Know? How?"
"Think. Hope."
Billy nodded, using a paw to rub at his nose. "Hope. Never Lost. Hope Always. Alpha fine? Need Go. Beta Look Look Look Soon."
"Alpha Fine." I confirmed. "Go, See Soon." I winced. "Attack Small."
His ears laid back, nose twitching. "Attack None Wish. Beta Watch. Me Safe. Attack Small. Help Alpha Some. Food. Water. Some. Small Help."
"You Safe First." I said forcibly. "Attack Alpha, Small. Big. Fine. You Safe First. Alpha Good Lone Alpha. Fight, Fight, Pack Happy. Fix."
He shook his head. "Alpha."
"Go." I interrupted him. "Beta Look Look Soon. No Scent. You Here. We Talk. None. You Safe. You Safe."
"Help Small." He promised, looking uncomfortable to be leaving me, as he turned for a side tunnel.
"Help Small. See Soon." Though really, I hoped that I wouldn't run into any of them soon. Even Billy. The safety of my crew was my first priority. Billy had shown support, but I wouldn't let him help me if that meant he would get hurt too.

I forced myself to move, to get further away from Billy's scent. Who knew if we all had the same walnut smell or if our scents in the group varied slightly, but I wouldn't give John a reason to suspect that me and Billy had met up. He might already be suspicious. He knew that Billy and I were close. I would have to let him think that Billy had betrayed me as thoroughly as the rest of the crew. That meant, that I couldn't let Billy help...much. I would be able to do this. I had worked alone long before I'd teamed up with the others, I could do so again.

#Henry