(I may add more to this part but I'm not sure. Enjoy this new part of "Missing" of my story! Also, "Missing is divided into different chapters but it's essentially all one part.)
"I …I'm sorry for asking." RJ said taking a heavy breath. "I didn't know..."
"No, don't be sorry. It's better that you know now rather than having to hear it from Hammy himself right?" Verne said as RJ shrugged.
"I guess. Man poor Hammy; it must have been rough for him, living alone like that." RJ said as the sun gently warmed his face.
"Just like you huh?" Heather said unexpectedly. RJ looked at her with a sudden discontentment. She gulped and gave a low "Sorry" at this.
"Just don't mention that now." RJ said shaking his head. "We have bigger problems now." RJ said looking immediately back to Verne.
"Hammy's gone. He wasn't in the forest. I came here to find him and obviously he isn't here." RJ said. Verne grew worried at hearing the sudden news.
"Where else could he be?" Verne asked trying not to sound too nervous.
"I'm guessing he ran away; Verne I'm almost positive that's the case." RJ said looking strictly at him without blinking.
"First of all, you still haven't even explained why he was in the forest. Second, why would he ever want to run away? He's surrounded by friends who love him right?" Verne said as everyone nodded in agreement with him. RJ looked down trying to find the right words.
"Right…of course we do but isn't it possible something could make him think differently?" RJ asked with tenseness in his voice. This made Verne suspicious; not specifically of RJ just more of the situation.
"It would have to be really bad to make him go sleep in that side of the woods and it would have to be even worse to get him to run away." Verne said as RJ felt his pulse quicken.
"Don't worry he can't be that far away. I'll go find him, right now." RJ said taking off back towards the dense forest.
"Hey wait shouldn't we help you!?" Verne said following quickly.
"No! I mean. No. We don't need anyone else getting lost. Trust me I'll be back by sundown; just wait here in case Hammy shows up." RJ commanded without waiting to hear a disagreement from anyone. RJ ran as much as his body would allow through the dense forest around him. Everything seemed to blur out of vision except for the only thing he could think of.
Hammy where are you? Where?
It was all a question of where. Where was he? Several different scenarios seemed to flood through RJ's mind at once. The possibility of him being hurt or even worse dead. As soon as RJ looked up to the midday horizon it him. RJ stopped dead in his tracks to catch his breath that steadily returned.
"Of course…the suburbs…" RJ panted. "He probably ran into town last night."
"You're probably right about that." Another voice said. RJ turned to see a weasel standing with a arm rested against the side of a tree. He had a strange color, dark red with a slight hint of grey. His eyes were fixed on RJ and he had his mouth slightly open with a toothy smile. RJ felt uneasy at the sight of the weasel's fangs that were sharp enough to rival his own.
"Who are you?" RJ asked remaining cautious. The weasel grinned more.
"Hmmm…why do you need to know?" he replied.
"I don't…I need to be somewhere else right now..."
"Lose something?" the weasel piped up. RJ gave him a curious look.
"Maybe…why do you need to know…?" RJ mimicked him carefully and watched the weasel's unnerving expression.
"I don't…I need to be somewhere else myself right now…I just thought…maybe you lost something." He said now mimicking RJ's tactic and looking as smug as ever.
"It doesn't concern you so why do you care?" RJ demanded but kept his voice at a low tone. The weasel gave a more deviant look now rather than a smile.
"Obviously it concerns you so I'm curious…what are you searching for? A friend maybe?" he said slyly. This made RJ worry about Hammy more. Hoping that Hammy didn't run into whoever this weasel was.
"Maybe. What are you up too? Do you know anything about my friend?" RJ said. The weasel ceased grinning to take a serious approach.
"The one that was crying and then zipped away from here like a bullet? Not really, all I do know is that he was wining about something. Not like I care, I have better things to do than speak with a raccoon like you." He said in his hoarse monotone.
"Like me? What are you talking about?" RJ said. The weasel however backed away and shuffled slowly back into the dark side of the woods. Out of sight now, RJ wondered if he had anything to do with Hammy's disappearance.
That guy better not have layed a claw on Hammy. Then again, he couldn't have. All he said is that he saw Hammy crying and then just as quickly ran off. No, if he wanted to hurt Hammy he would've but why was he just standing there like that in the first place? What do I care? RJ get a hold of yourself, you need to go find Hammy and he needs you. Now!
RJ once again looked ahead at the end of the woods. Even though the hedge was still the way to the primary suburbs, at this end of the hedge everything looked like downtown type suburbia. It was basically the same type of houses and buildings just not nearly as full as the other side of town.
"Great, for all I know he could be anywhere out there." RJ said. He sat down to rest before preparing himself for a vague realization.
This is where I used to live. Before I met Hammy and everyone else. It still hasn't changed at all. The same trash, the same bad air, the same everything. It's my entire fault this happened; Hammy…I hope you can forgive me.
The sound of someone screaming caught RJ's attention.
"AHHHH!!!!! It stole my cookie!"
"It's just a squirrel. Wait isn't that the one that attacked you before?"
"YES NOW GET IT! KILL IT OR SOMETHING!" shrieked a young female voice.
RJ hurried to see two people running in circles around a orange blur.
"Is that Hammy? It has to be! Hang on buddy!" RJ said jumping through the hedge and hurrying to the scene. Before he could do anything else Hammy was already out of sight. Even worse he was now in the middle of the same problem he just watched Hammy escape from.
"Is that a raccoon? Eww get it away!" one of the girls yelled. RJ dodged the best he could. The soles of their shoes barely missing him by fewer and fewer inches each time.
Geez! Give me a break! I just barely got here!
RJ managed to find enough room to get out of harms way. The two human girls didn't dare follow him for which RJ was thankful. Unfortunately, Hammy was once again gone.
RJ looked at his surroundings to see if he recognized any of it. He hoped for a familiar sign or tree.
"Right…let's see…there has to be something around here I remember…"
He gave a second glance and noticed the side of a particular building.
"There it is! Ahh…my old attic hangout. That means I'm in the right place! Just need to relocate a few other places and I if I'm lucky I'll be able to find Hammy in no time." RJ's enthusiasm was short lived however and replaced with a crude sense of failure.
"You would at least expect something new here. This place hasn't changed much at all. The same houses by the same streets with the same screaming kids who climb that tree." RJ said in a bored voice.
Since when did I start being a poetic raccoon?
RJ didn't want to stay the night here. He realized the only way he could get anything done was by looking for Hammy. Though he hadn't given up yet, it still seemed so impossible.
"He could be long gone by now…" said climbing through the broken window and making his way onto the roof. RJ then began to climb down the rain gutter onto the ground. The streetlights were all on by now. He walked down the sidewalk trying to see another sign of his lost friend but found none. He did however notice a paper that blew towards him and stopped near his feet. It read "Lost: 2 people." It included pictures of them with bits of information. RJ read it over "A reward will be offered along with great recognition if you know anything concerning these two missing people." RJ said aloud before dropping it back to the ground.
Reward huh? Just finding Hammy would be good enough for me.
I know I can still find Hammy but…does he want to be found?
RJ heard the sound of a vehicle getting closer and hid in a nearby bush to avoid any contact with humans. It was a police car. It parked in front of a house nearby RJ who wanted to get a closer look for himself
"Hmm, looks like the humans in this town are up to no good again. Too bad they're too dumb to stop getting in trouble." RJ said as a police officer approached the house and began to knock on the door.
"Yes? Oh hello officer. What brings you back here?"
"It turns out the what happened last night wasn't an accident." The officer said gruffly "We didn't realize this until after the accident yesterday. We would've told you then but you had already gone.
"What do you mean? The car wreck?" she asked quietly
"Yes…but the explosion is what our concern is. Someone deliberately started the fire immediately after the wreck. For all we know they were responsible for all of it. What we do know however that someone was trying to kill you and your daughter and we need you to come down to the station just to be safe for tonight. Do you understand?" he said in an authority given voice. The woman took a moment to look around and then she looked back In her house to see her daughter walking down the stairs. Her daughter was sleepy eyed and had a stuffed animal in her hand.
"Mommy…" the girl said softly "Can I sleep in your room today? The whisper monster keeps waking me up." The mother picked up her daughter and rocked her back and forth as if she was still a infant.
"Sweetie we're going to stay somewhere else tonight ok?" she whispered.
"Who's the whisper monster?" The cop asked curiously.
"It's just Ally's way of describing the wind. She can't sleep well when it's breezy outside."
"I see." The cop said "Now shall we go?"
"Give me a second to turn out the lights and I'll be right there." She said walking back inside with her daughter. RJ watched as a few windows turned from luminous to dark. One by one every light in the house was going down until there was nothing left but the dark. Seconds later the mother and her child were seated in the police car with the officer and eventually drove away until RJ could see them no more.
"They can't be that dumb if they keep each other safe…" RJ said to himself.
If only I always did that. Then maybe…I would still have my family…
RJ didn't need to remind himself any more of what happened. It was now stuck in his head forever. Even though he knew things could be worse, he still wished they were better.
"Man where is Hammy!? He has to be here, he just…has to be…somewhere." RJ felt his throat weaken as a terrible feeling hit him.
Hammy…where are you? This isn't how I want everything to end. No…it can't…It can't! I have to find you…
"I have to find you!!" RJ yelled into the night air. He began to run in the open everywhere. He ran down the sidewalk, in the front and back yards of houses and even in the middle of the street. He searched every little thing that could attribute as a hiding place for a squirrel. After much searching with no results rj could feel his breath begin to wither away from his lungs. He panted for what felt like hours but in reality they what was merely seconds.
He has to be…somewhere…Hammy…I don't want to lose you the same way I lost my last friend…