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

I didn't know what to think when a black hamster with a white stripe across his nose appeared. Billy. His cheeks bulged with food. And he stopped when he caught sight of me. He turned to look back the way he'd come. Checking for the others? I thought I'd understood what John was getting at in his hamster speak, but now I wondered, had he meant only himself.
Even though I hoped that that wasn't the case, I took a step back, readying myself to run.
Billy shook his head with a muffled squeak. "Not hurt." He said pulling out a couple of the dry cheerios from his cheeks and pushing them towards me. "Bad night, Alpha?" He glanced over his shoulder again. "No others come. Me here. Not long. No Hurt" he looked back to me.
If hamsters could cry I would have been trying to hide tears. I hadn't truly thought Billy would go against me, to have it confirmed, relaxed some of the tension.
Some of it. I took a step forward to take one of the cheerios. "Bad Night. Bad time. Bad everywhere."
He nodded. "Not Good, Tried Not Hurt. Tried. Beta look out. Safety Me. Had Fight. Safety."
I hated this hamster speak. It wasn't as clear as I wanted it to be. My nose twitched as I nibbled on the food. "Beta Look Out?"
"He Here Many Seasons. Alpha Here. Bad Alpha here. Wants all Food, Wants All Others Alpha Him. None say Not Alpha." His ears wilted. "Not want hurt. Safety me. But You Alpha. Want Help. No Help No food. Bad. Survive Need. You. Me. Others."
Yes, I definitely hated this hamster speak. But, I could understand it after a fashion. Billy hadn't wanted to hurt me, but he had to because if he didn't John was going to hurt him. John ruled here, and to go against him would mean probably getting the same treatment I had just received.
"You Danger, Come Here?"
He nodded. "You Alpha. Alpha Needs Protect."
"Alpha Needs You Survive. Understand Fight Bite Fight." I cared more about his safety then my own. My crew took priority over my needs.
"Tail. Tail Only. Small Hurt."
I squeaked out a laugh. Come to think of it, he had only come after that nubby thing of a tail. "Others think same you?"
He shook his head. "All Mad. All Mad mad mad mad. Me Quiet. See. Hope. All Mad." he cocked his head. "Hope one. One Not Madmad. Suns wait. See. Mad. Scared. Mad Bad Gathering. All Want Burrows. Homes. Here Many Suns. All Scared Be Here Many Suns More."

#Henry
 

They may have called me Alpha, but with John acting like the leader, I was pretty sure I'd just fallen to the Omega slot.

I couldn't stay where I was for long, Lisa would be along any moment. I forced myself to move up to the higher reaches of the tunnel maze so that my wounds wouldn't be visible to the humans below. And if I understood John right, if my injuries were discovered, I wouldn't survive for long afterwards.
Especially if I had nobody on my side.

My ears laid back at that thought as I crouched down in a Y-shaped pipe towards the back of the store. How had John managed to take control so completely? It was John! Billy hadn't even wanted him as part of our crew until I convinced him we needed more muscle for our heists. And now? Now Billy was letting him lead? How had this gotten so messed up?

~Hey Fishy Thief, How goes Hamster life?~ Lisa called from below as she entered accompanied by the bell ringing from above the door.
~Oh it's a hoot and a half.~ I replied back as normally as I could. Should I tell her?
~More like a squeak I would think, unless you've learned to imitate an owl during the night?~ I could see her looking upwards searching for me as she gathered her stuff together to begin her morning chores.
~I'm trying to, haven't managed the sounds, but I do have the staying up all night thing down.~ Since I'd been chased around the whole night by John and the others. ~Are Hamsters nocturnal?~ I hadn't asked that before.
She shrugged, ~The normal ones are. The human ones? Not always. Why?~
~I.... just found it easier to stay up all night.~ It's easy to be wide awake when you're being attacked. ~And I noticed there seemed to be more of us around at night, running through the tunnels and such.~
~To each their own I suppose. I never really paid attention before. Are you going to become nocturnal now?~ She sounded faintly anxious as she moved to give us Human Hamsters food. I didn't dare go down to grab breakfast with her over there. Come to think of it, I probably couldn't go down there while the store was open. How was I going to eat?
~What, are you worried you won't have anyone to talk to?~ I asked.
~Huh? No! I have plenty of others to talk to!....You're just one of the more interesting ones.~
I chuckled mentally. Oh yah, my life was interesting though I wouldn't talk about it right now. I had to understand first, understand how John had managed this. How he'd turned everyone against me. ~Sure, I'm interesting. Just because I sleep for days on end one time...~
~It's not that.~ She said flatly, staring down at the hamsters. I could tell she was searching for me. ~You sound different...are you sure you're okay?~
Well, my friends had just tried to kill me. ~I'm fine, no ill effects from that Lisa. Perhaps you just haven't heard me sleep deprived before?~ I remarked. ~I was trying to get some zzzs when you walked in.~ I couldn't let her know that my crew had turned against me. No, I would do my best to convince them...of what I didn't know. I had no idea what John had done or said to get them on his side. I needed to find that out first.
~Oh by all means, sleep away the day.~ she said sarcastically ~don't let me keep you up.~
~I wasn't going to for much longer,~ I replied back, my ears suddenly perked up as I heard faint scratching along one of the side tunnels. What was that? Shouldn't everyone be getting breakfast now?

#Henry

More bites quickly followed, harder and harder. I struggled, but Jessa and Billy held me down in place.
What was this!? "Stop? What? Wait! Pain!" I squeaked, struggling to get away. They were attacking me? Even Billy?
If anything my squeaks seemed to encourage them. Billy went for my tail, nipping at the stubby point, Jessa my ears and my head. The others took everywhere in between.
A torrent of words, full of anger assaulted me. "Long time!" "Where you?"  "Slowslowslowslowslow" "Die! Die!, We all die!" "Noises all the time." "Barkbark!" "Alpha bad!" "No good alpha" "Bad risk." "Badbadbad"
In many ways their words hurt worse then the bites, but in reality, the bites were on fire, and my increasingly louder shrieks only encouraged them to bite harder. I twisted, finally nipping back at them, managing to get enough wiggle room from my feeble counter attack, using my teeth wherever I could to get free. I broke into a dead run, feeling the blood all along my body. I could hear the others giving chase behind me. John tackled me before I made it more then a foot down one of the tunnels. I rolled with him, biting as hard as I could and rolled free as he released me, only to encounter the others.
Their squeaks had no words now. Anger and Fear drove them to attack me. I couldn't reason with them, not with them this riled up.
We raced through the various tunnels, me taking whatever turns I could when they presented themselves to me, but whatever I tried, I couldn't shake them. They came like an avalanche. Larry and Sue managed to squeeze around me while I was fighting Billy, managing to block me in the narrow corridor. Billy got me onto my back, and John went for my throat.
He froze as the bell above the door dinged, announcing the first of the employees arriving to work. John chirped an order and the others fell back. He glared at me with his eyes a crazed mixture of red and black. "No attack daytime," he said, stiffly, "No notice with hairless. None. Night come. You runRunRUN! Continue. No die, but Run you fight."
The others had already disappeared, but I nodded, rolling cautiously to my feet. "No notice. None." I repeated softly, feeling like my mind's voice should be as parched as my throat felt.
"Hairless no notice." he warned me again, backing away. "Hairless notice, you dead."
I closed my eyes, listening to him make his way back down one of the tunnels. I could hear myself softly squeaking, from the multiple wounds running like fire all over my body.

#Henry

John chattered at me, almost like a growl. "Beta here long long time. Seasons change, change, cool, wet, hot hot, cool."
Definitely John then, he'd been a hamster the longest. 
I turned to the others. "All well? Eat much? Long here?"
John answered. "Find small female first, when hot hot, she barkbark, chase chase barkbark."
I sat back. Why was john answering for them? Surely the others could speak, I'd heard Larry talk. I shook my head. The barkbarks? A dog? Sue had gone after the dog stuff. So the female of John's size had to be Sue, which made the curly haired female, Jessa. Mentally I winced. Jessa had always kept her hair short like a guys. She'd hated long hair, and now, she had to deal with it as a hamster.
John continued his litany when I stayed quiet.
"Quick, quick next come in heat hot, Big male big female few suns apart storm wet soon ago.~
I nodded, I could follow that, though as a fish I had no idea about what the weather conditions were like, I got an idea of the timeline. Larry, Billy, and finally Jessa had come, and if they were talking about the storm I thought they were, they'd been together for at least a month before I'd been shifted.
"Good good, Happy all together. Soon home, soon fine good. You all speak yes? Good?" Nobody spoke up and my ears wilted. I looked to Billy first, then the others. "Bad Alpha, Bad gathering. Not again. No. Ears hear better now. You good?"
John nodded again speaking for the group. "Good soon yes." 
As one they moved forward, surrounding me and pressing in. At first I thought they were giving me some sort of group hug, but then I felt the first bite.  

#Henry