Inside the gloomy old building, Calvin and Hobbes found themselves in a classroom.

"This is possibly the worst place we could have landed in," Calvin groaned.

"It was bound to happen."

The rows of wooden desks were long gone, and the chalkboards had been taken away too. The coatroom was empty, except for a few rusty hooks. Part of a pencil sharpener dangled on the wall. Old pictures had left their impressions on the walls. A few old homework papers had been left behind on the floor.

Calvin sneezed. "I haven't seen this much dust since I blew up the vacuum cleaner," he sniffed. "I can't believe the just left the place."

"Indeed," Hobbes agreed. "There's so much dust, I can barely smell anything. However, if my nose serves correct, someone had a peanut butter and pickles sandwich at some point in this room in 1955."

"Yuck!" Calvin gagged.

Suddenly, the worn floor beneath Calvin began to creak and buckle. He leaped aside quickly.

"This place isn't very safe," Calvin decided. "We'll have to be careful where we step."

"Let's get going," Hobbes decided.

Clutching their suitcases, the two tiptoed into the hall.

"Awfully quiet in here," Hobbes whispered. "I can actually hear the people in your head mess around with your brain like marbles."

"Shut up," Calvin groaned.

They slowly made their way down the empty corridors. They stuck their noses into all the classrooms on the first floor. They were all the same: dusty and deserted.

Finally, they'd searched the entire first floor after a whole hour.

"I smell lots of dirt," Hobbes said, "but not a whiff of tuna. Now I'm getting hungry."

"No problem," said Calvin. "You've got tuna."

Hobbes went for his suitcase and started to eat some tuna.

Calvin opened his own suitcase, pulling out the small bag of airline peanuts.

"This is stupid," he said. "There are only nine peanuts in here. This calls for a little assistance."

He reached into the suitcase and pulled out a small glowing box.

"Isn't that your hypercube?" asked Hobbes.

"Yep. Seeing as how it can store an infinite amount of objects, I packed in here what wouldn't fit in the suitcase, including…"

Calvin pulled out a familiar cardboard box from the hypercube.

"Oh…," Hobbes said. "I've suddenly lost my appetite."

"Ease up, sissy," said Calvin. "You won't be involved. This'll only take three seconds."

He put the package of peanuts under the box. He then turned the side with the arrow on it. He placed it on the word DUPLICATOR. He pressed a button. A little "boink" noise was heard. Calvin lifted the box and pulled out three packages of peanuts. He ate them down in nothing flat.

"Okay, I'm ready and thirsty."

They looked around some more. There was a drinking fountain still on the wall. Calvin tried to get a drink from it, but it didn't work. In fact, when he pushed the button it fell off.

"Oh, terrific," Calvin groaned.

Thump-thump.

"Now I can hear your heart beating," teased Calvin.

Thump-thump.

"I thought that was you," Hobbes replied.

Thump-thump.

"No, that wasn't me."

Thump-thump.

Calvin looked at Hobbes. "So if it wasn't your heart, and it wasn't my heart, then whose heart was it?"

"Teacher Creature," Hobbes whispered nervously.

"I told you, the Creature isn't here!" Calvin said sternly.

Thump-thump.

They jumped in fear again at the sound. It was louder.

Calvin looked again.

"But just in case I'm wrong for the first time ever," Calvin continued, "I suggest we calmly…RUN FOR OUR LIVES! Last one home is Creature bait!"

Thump-thump.

Calvin and Hobbes grabbed their bags and whirled back towards the door. Unfortunately, the door was chained shut. They pounded and bashed it, but it wouldn't budge.

Thump-thump.

"Is that to keep us out, or keep the creature in?" Calvin asked spookily.

"Not funny!" Hobbes yelled. "Open up, you worthless piece of wood!" He fought with the door handle.

It was no good. The door was stuck and there was nothing they could do about it.

"Quick, this way!" Calvin shouted.

Thump-thump.

The shot off down the hall like bullets, trying to get away from the noise. Each time they ran, however, it kept coming from a different direction. It was louder and louder each time.

"What do we do now?" Hobbes moaned.

"We pray for mercy," Calvin decided.

They dropped the bags and hugged each other.

Thump-thump!

"Hobbes, we need something thick and heavy to beat up the Creature! Give me your head!"

"Hey, it's your fault we're in this fix!" Hobbes snapped. "Why did you make me fun away from home? I was happy there! We had tuna, TV, tuna, a bed, tuna, and most important, salmon! Oh, and did I mention the tuna?"

Thump-thump!

Whatever it was, it would be around the corner in less than thirty seconds. Calvin grabbed Hobbes' suitcase and ripped it open.

"Here's the plan," he said. "I'll blind him with the flashlight while you smack him with the cans of tuna. And next time, will you please pack some monster spray?"

Hobbes nodded nervously. "Old pal, if anything should happen to us, there's one thing you should know.

Calvin looked at Hobbes with tearful eyes.

"It's going to happen to you first."

He swung Calvin in front of him like a shield.

"HEY!" Calvin yelled.

They stood there and waited for the horrible thing to appear.

THUMP-THUMP!

The Creature drew closer and closer. Calvin and Hobbes backed against the wall.

THUMP-THUMP!

It was nearly there. It was… It was…

Calvin turned on the flashlight.

It was a boy! Startled by the light, the boy stopped dribbling his basketball, which bounced across the floor.

"Who's there?" asked the boy. He was about eight years old, and he had a backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Hobbes, you mangy fleabag!" Calvin yelled. "It's just a kid!"

The boy came closer. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Calvin," Calvin answered, extending his arm. "You're honored to meet me, I'm sure. This is my number one compadre, Hobbes."

"Charmed," said Hobbes.

"Hey, I know you guys. Didn't you hijack my sister with water balloons last month?"

"We're only doing our job, sir," Calvin said. "It's our job to defend the GROSS title."

"Right," Hobbes said.

"Well, I'm Andy," the boy told them. "So, what are you guys doing here?"

"Looking for sanctuary in this old crumbling school, what else?" Calvin said, motioning towards his suitcase. "Hobbes and me are trying to make it in this place that got killed by the Creature. We're gonna find it and destroy it and end the suffering."

The boy chuckled. "Hate to break it to ya, kid, but there's no creature. I've been here all day and haven't seen a trace of it."

"Did you smell tuna?" Hobbes asked hopefully.

"Not a whiff."

"So what brings you here?" Calvin asked.

"Same as you. I'm taking a little time away from home. You wouldn't believe how my parents treat me. I have to bring in the garbage cans on trash day. I'm not allowed to play video games after supper. I also have to finish my homework before I can shoot hoops."

Calvin and Hobbes stared at him blankly.

"Where's the bad part in all this?" Calvin asked.

"Yeah, we're not exactly basketball people, and we don't exactly play video games. Besides, you wouldn't believe the cool stuff you find in the bottom of the trash cans."

"I once found old bugs and maggots crawling over a piece of stale cottage cheese," said Calvin proudly.

"They make me eat broccoli," Andy added.

"Okay, there ya go," said Calvin. "That could be a problem."

"I don't really have any place to go, so I decided to hang out here for a few days to show I can't be pushed around. I'll probably get some more respect when I get back. I might get to shoot hoops all I want!"

Calvin snorted. "Well, I'm staying here forever, as long as the Creature doesn't get me. You can bet it'll be cool around here. We'll swindle from chocolate bar salesmen and make surprise attacks with water balloons."

"Whatever," said Andy. "You guys can hang out with me if you want. I brought all my best stuff. I've got my CD player, hand-held games, comic books, baseball cards, some candy bars—"

"What kind of comic books?" Calvin asked.

"And the coolest thing of all…" From his backpack he drew a wriggling ball of fur. "…my hamster, Shermie."

"Sherman," squeaked the hamster. "The name is Sherman."

Calvin and Hobbes' eyes grew wide.

"Shermie, say hello to Calvin and Hobbes."

"I'll do no such thing." Sherman sniffed and turned his head. "I don't associate with common folk. Especially smelly common folk."

"You've got quite an attitude for a rat," observed Hobbes.

"Hamster!" Sherman corrected. "And you've got quite an attitude for a long, orange pole."

"Hey!" exclaimed Hobbes.

"You've got a talking hamster?" Calvin cried. "Radical!"

"Shermie used to work with my dad at the university," Andy told them. "They did experiments together."

"Really," said Hobbes. "Like, what makes a hamster explode?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Sherman protested. "I did some very important work in mazes. It was written up in all the scientific journals."

Hobbes yawned long and loud. "Wow, that's so interesting."

"Of course," Sherman continued, "you've never been to the university."

"Tigers don't need a university," Hobbes declared. "Tigers already know everything. I've been doing Calvin's homework for years."

"Oh really?" Sherman replied. "Do you know what 360 times 4,002 equals?"

Hobbes thought for a moment. "Well, no," he finally admitted. "Do you?"

"It equals a very large number," Sherman said smugly. "If you'd been to the university, you'd know that."

Calvin rolled his eyes and pushed Hobbes away from the hamster. "Okay boys, break it up."

"Sorry about Shermie," Andy said. "He can get a little full of himself."

"Don't worry," Calvin said. "I know the feeling."

"Hey!" Hobbes snapped.

They would have gone on arguing, but Hobbes suddenly felt a disturbance.

"What's wrong with him now?" Sherman snorted.

"I think he senses someone coming," Calvin said. "He's being the great predator now."

Then they heard the scrape of footsteps down the hall.

"Someone else is in the building," Andy said nervously. "You don't think it's…?"

"Where's the kid?" Sherman asked.

Hobbes, Andy and Sherman looked around and saw that Calvin had disappeared.

"Mild-mannered Calvin checks his timing as his comrades are distracted. He ducks into a nearby closet to transform into…STUPENDOUS MAN!" he shouted.

The others didn't hear him. They heard Hobbes say, "I think it's time to hide."

They had to find a place quickly. The footsteps were coming nearer. Dropping the bags, the runaway tiger, boy and hamster ducked into the closet. The one Calvin was in.

"Hey!" he yelled. "I'm trying to be a superhero here. Do you mind?"

"I'm scared," Andy whispered.

"I'm squashed," Hobbes groaned. "Next time, we hide in separate closets."