Meanwhile, Hobbes was stuck with Sherman. This was the most talkative hamster he'd ever met.

"When I was at the university," Sherman was saying, "we did an experiment where—"

"Sorry, boring time is over," Hobbes announced. "We've got to find Calvin and get out of here."

Hobbes and Sherman slowly made their way through the halls. They peeked around the corners every time, alert for any sign of the Creature or Calvin. But the corridors were empty and still. Finally, they found the gym.

The basketball, bats and cans were still where they'd left them.

"Calvin?" Hobbes called softly.

"That's Andy's basketball!" said Sherman, pointing at the ball.

"It is?" Hobbes asked.

"Yes. He insisted on going back inside to get you guys for some reason that I'll never understand, and we found the gym. He played basketball, but then the Creature showed up and scared him away. I hid under the bleachers while you two played that silly game."

"Calvinball is not silly!" Hobbes protested. "It's the best game to play in this world. But I'm sure you wouldn't know that, seeing as how all you did was run through mazes."

"Pah!" the hamster squeaked. "I'll have you know—"

"I'll have you know that I don't want to hear a peep out of you until we find Calvin and Andy! They could be in serious danger!"

Sherman snorted and went under the bleachers to his hiding place to sleep.

Hobbes rolled his eyes and left the gym. He didn't care about Sherman one bit. He just wanted to find Calvin and go home. This wasn't the place for him.

Hobbes walked for what seemed for hours, calling to Calvin and Andy. He didn't want to stop searching for them, but he kept getting sleepier and sleepier. But he didn't want to fall asleep, should the Creature pop up and kill him. What to do?

Finally, he spotted the basement door. He decided to hide down there. He opened the door and went inside. He walked down the stairs and searched. He finally spotted something that made a light. It wasn't as bright as the flashlight, but he didn't care.

He aimed the flashlight at the source. He jumped in surprise. The long pipes of the furnace that looked like a spider were scary enough, but what made it scarier was that something spiky was popping up from up top. It was really the shadow of Calvin's hair, but to Hobbes, it looked like a hairy spider!

"AAAAAAHHHH!" he hollered, dropping the flashlight.

Calvin awoke with a start and he shot up.

The spikes above the furnace moved, and the shadows on the pipes shifted, making it seem as though the giant creature was moving.

Hobbes turned on his heels and shot back up the stairs. He was nearly at the top, but he found that the door was stuck.

"HELP!" Hobbes shouted.

"Hobbes?" Calvin called.

"Calvin?" Hobbes asked, calming down.

He looked back down and past the spikes, noticing that they looked familiar.

"Calvin, is that you?" he asked.

"Hobbes!" Calvin cried. "I'm back here!"

Hobbes ran past the furnace and spotted Calvin.

"Our stuff!" he cried.

"Yep! Hobbes, there are some kooky things going on around here! He cooks tuna, he has a werewolf statue, he can work a furnace and he has all this junk lying around back here! Either the Creature is a sophisticated monster, or something very weird is going on."

"Well, what do we do?" Hobbes asked. "Andy and Sherman are in the building and I can't find the kid!"

"I think we should get out of here. Andy's smart enough. He'll find his way out! Besides, who cares about Sherman?"

"Exactly what I thought. He ridiculed Calvinball."

Calvin put on Andy's backpack and picked up the suitcase. Hobbes picked up his own and they ran for the door, only to find it was stuck.

"It would take someone way stronger than us to open this door," Calvin decided. "We need to find a way out!"

Hobbes aimed the flashlight around the room. The light fixed on an odd looking cell.

"Why would there be a prison cell in an elementary school basement?" he wondered.

"Who cares? It's convenient. Look!"

There was a ladder leading up to a hatch in the ceiling.

They hurried over to it. Hobbes extended a claw and moved it around the keyhole until it finally opened.

"Okay, seriously," Calvin said. "How do you do that?"

"Confidential to the name of tigers," Hobbes replied.

Calvin and Hobbes scurried up the ladder and out into the open. It was after midnight, and they were exhausted.

Calvin looked around the old, overgrown playground. He spotted the jungle gym, which looked mighty cozy right now.

"It's not Embassy Suits," he decided, "but it looks good enough. The Creature could never squeeze through the bars."

They crawled into the little sanctuary and settled in. They unrolled the sleeping bags and pulled out the pillows, and they finally fell asleep.

During all this, Mom was getting angry. Calvin had not come home. He had missed his physical and dinner at the Derkins, and she was steamed.

"CALVIN!" she shouted for the fiftieth time that night. "GET BACK HERE!"

Dad came out of the house to join her. "Still no luck?" he asked.

"I can't believe him!" Mom grumbled. "He's deliberately trying to make me mad."

"Well, today wasn't a good day for him. After all, we were a little rough on him today, what with locking up the TV, taking away his tree house, taking him to the doctor, making him eat vegetables with Susie…"

"What's that got to do with it?" Mom snapped. "He should know by now that life isn't perfect!"

"Well," Dad went on, "life shouldn't have to be terrible."

Mom sighed. "Let's call some people and see if Calvin's been by them."

They reentered the house.

Calvin and Hobbes awoke to something poking them in their noses.

"What's going on?" Calvin whispered.

"It's Vermin," Hobbes grumbled.

Calvin groaned. "What do you want, Calvinball hater?" he grunted.

"I want to get out of here," said the little hamster. "Can we please get out of here?"

Hobbes snorted. "I'd assume a hamster from the university could find his own way out by now. Isn't that right, Mr. Rat Pants?"

Sherman poked Hobbes' nose again. "Can we just leave now? I want to be back in Andy's bedroom. The cage is starting to sound very comfy right now."

"Wow, you gotta admire that in a rat," said Hobbes.

"He's right, though," Calvin said. "We need to get out of here. First, however, we need to find Andy before we can do anything else."

"Agreed," said Sherman.

The hamster hopped into the backpack, which Calvin slung over his shoulder. They grabbed their suitcases and made a run out of the playground and back to the building.

They found a hole through the old wall, and they went through it.

"Where do we start looking?" asked Hobbes.

They walked towards the old library. The bookshelves were still there, and a few old books were still in piles.

Calvin was very impressed. "This is what should happen to all libraries."

Sherman sighed. "It'll be a sad day when your generation takes over."

Calvin responded by zipping up the backpack.

They searched the whole room, searching for clues. All they did find was old bubblegum wads and a few piles of dust.

Hobbes looked around the old bookcases. He found something on a shelf.

"Check this out!" he said.

"What is it?"

"Roll on deodorant."

Calvin sniffed it. "Phew! This stuff stinks! It must be old."

"Wouldn't bet on it," said Hobbes. "The expiration date is set for this year. It's just a bad brand."

Calvin scratched his head. "That's odd. Does this make the Creature self-conscious?"

"I'd be too if I had to live in this place without a shower in it."

Calvin felt something poking him through the backpack. He unzipped it.

"What do you want?"

"You ate my candy bar!"

"What did you expect?" Calvin snorted. "I was starving and I was out of peanuts. Speaking of which, I'm thirsty."

Suddenly, they heard a familiar sound.

Thump-thump.

They jumped.

"Creature alert!" said Hobbes.

"Hurry!" said Calvin.

They ducked into the old teachers' lounge.

The footsteps disappeared.

Calvin looked through the glass window.

"Okay, it's safe."

"Look!" said Sherman.

Calvin looked up and saw an amazing sight.

"A soda machine!" he exclaimed.

"And it looks fresh," added Hobbes.

Calvin took the pocket change from his suitcase and gave it a try. Much to his surprise, a can of soda fell into the dispatch. He opened it carefully, and then took a sip.

"It tastes like a cup of heaven!" he whispered.

"And it goes down smooooooooth," added Hobbes, quoting the soda ad.

Sherman was confused. "Is this just an example of product placement?" he asked.

"Who cares?" Calvin said, taking another gulp. "Fresh, delectable beverages at reasonably cost prices is enough to win me over."

They left the lounge and walked around the school some more. Still, this left several questions unanswered…