Chapter 14?
I decided to surprise you all with a new ending sequence following the last chapter. No one, not even some of my closest FanFictioners were informed of this, so here we go.
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Sandy lay alone in her cage. It was simply unreal; all her friends were dead. Stan? She wasn't exactly sure. He had bounded into the darkness of the forest that night, and she had not seen him since. She had overheard Noel and Hillary talk the day after the incident. Noel was in a panic because he had woken up that morning and Stan was gone. She helped him search the house for the longest time, and he didn't turn up.
Because he's a werewolf, Sandy thought to herself. He's probably out killing every innocent ham that crosses his path.
Not only that, but Hillary had told her that Laura and Kana's hamsters were missing also, along with some of their friends. It was all baffling to her human, but Sandy knew every last detail of the past events. At times it was a blur, but often at night every minute if it seemed to be happening all over again. First, Cappy's body in the forest . . . Bijou, Penelope and Pashmina . . . Maxwell . . . oh, how she missed her closest friend. Maxwell was always in a cheery mood, and willing to do anything with Sandy. They were an inseparable couple, until now. His death was the only thing that tore them apart.
A tear fell down her cheek. She hoped to wake up, discovering that this was all a horrid nightmare. But she touched her paw to her cheek, and felt the moisture on the fingertips. It was all real. They would never return. She looked over at Hillary's bed, where her owner would usually be but instead was spending the night at Noel's. She probably did not know the pain of losing a close friend.
Sandy was startled by a noise at the windowsill by her cage. She turned to face in that direction, if anything was there, but she saw nothing. Thinking it was her imagination, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep for the night.
The noise was heard again. This time she called out 'Who's there?' and once more turned to face the window. Her eyes widened as the dark silhouette of a large figure, in her standards, anyway, was sitting on the ledge outside the glass. She blinked twice and looked again, but the figure was gone.
Strange, she thought to herself. What could that be?
Something had caught the corner of her eye. Looking again at the glass panes, she saw the figure again. And this time it was trying to force open the window open. Sandy went into a panic. What was this thing? She crawled into the corner of her cage, hoping whatever it was wouldn't see her. She wished now that her human was with her to shoo the intruder.
At last, the window was pushed open. As the figure moved into the moonlight shining through the opening, she gasped when she realized what it was. There was no mistake; it had long, pointy ears, muscular arms, and ragged fur. And to top it all, a demonic, toothy grin. It could only be one person: Stan.
He jumped across the gap to her cage. Sandy cowered by her house, thinking she wouldn't be seen in the darkness. The werewolf immediately began sniffing around the outer edge of her cage, trying to catch a scent. She had to cover her mouth with her paws to keep from being heard, but it was almost no use for she was breathing like a runner after a marathon.
Stan halted at the door to her abode. Sandy froze in terror. What would her brother do to her? He shoved his muzzle under the cage door and forced it quickly upwards, then leaped inside, the door coming down with a loud cliiiiingk. He slowly walked over to her hiding spot, his eyes gleaming in the darkness. Sandy began to cry in fear. His heavy footsteps rattled the floor, each one getting closer to his frightened sister. Finally, he stopped in his position, towering above her. She turned away, preparing to be struck hard by an unholy blow.
It never happened. She tensed up when she felt something on her shoulder. She shifted her eyes, only to find it was the werewolf's paw. She looked at it for a moment, noticing that it seemed to mean no harm.
"Look at me."
Her eyes widened, and she froze in her position, her eyes still gazing at the gentle paw. "D-did y-you just-"
"I said LOOK UP AT ME!" Stan took his other paw and grabbed her chin, pulling it so that she looked him in the eyes. His voice was strange; it no longer had its young tone. Now, it was more deep and malicious, every word seeming to have a growl to it.
He let go of her chin, and she gulped. "Wh-what do you want, Stan?"
He raised his eyebrows. "You knew it was me? I'm impressed."
"Of course. When Elder Ham transmitted the curse to you, I knew that you must have already transformed. You are, like, the only werewolf in the whole city," she said to him. "What are you here for?"
"I want to know . . ." he said rather nervously, ". . . if you forgive me."
She cocked her head to the side. "For what? When you ran off that-"
"Yes . . . I felt so badly that I had abandoned you in the clubhouse that I felt sick for days. Even though my shape had shifted before I had even left the tunnels, I felt awful."
"Where did you go after that?"
"To the forest . . . I parked myself under a tree for the night, and cried myself to sleep. The tears seemed to burn as they flowed down my face . . . werewolves aren't supposed to cry. I woke up the next morning, expecting to be in my cage as usual at Noel's house, like every other day. But no, I was this ugly, horrible MONSTER!" He got up from his crouched position and let out a fearsome roar, smacking Sandy's food bowl in rage and scattering the contents all over the cage floor.
Sandy was unnerved by his sudden temper, and tried to settle him down. She had to build up some courage, for he was still fuming mad and grunting loudly with every breath he took. "Stan! Calm down! What is with you!"
He sighed, and kneeled down beside her. "Every day is a living nightmare. I cannot be seen by a living soul without them going into hysterics. I decided it would be best to roam only at night, when most animals are asleep. I often walk by the old clubhouse, thinking of our friends that perished inside. The way their bodies were left there to rot like forgotten souls in the deepest pits of Hell."
Sandy felt a tear form at the tip of her eye. She turned away, trying to conceal her emotion from her brother. His attitude had definitely changed from the time since she had last seen him; he seemed more wise about everything, but in return he was more anger-ridden and prone to release it in a fury.
"You don't know what it is like . . . to be like one of them. Just a forgotten soul. An outcast in the eyes of all other hamsters. You will never know the pain and suffering I've had to endure. NEVER!" She jumped, preparing for another fit of rage. But instead, he turned and crawled into a ball, growling to himself.
Sandy walked up to him cautiously. "Stan? Are you-" He reared his head and snapped at her ferociously, as if to say 'Back off!'.He then lowered his ears.
"But one thing that's great . . . the power I've been granted. Look at these arms, these claws. I would have never gained such traits as a hamster."
She looked at him curiously. "What are you trying to say?"
"I could do anything I ever wanted. No one could stop me. Not you, not Noel, no one. If I wanted to . . ." All of a sudden he lunged at Sandy, picking her up by the skin on her chest and pinning her to the wall. "I could crush every bone in your body, rip the living flesh off your hide . . ."
He sighed, and dropped her like a rag doll to the floor.
"But I don't." He turned away. Sandy lay on the floor, bawling her eyes out. She could never imagine her own brother speaking to her like this. Stan, however, showed little sympathy to his frightened sister. "Get up."
She did what she was told, trying not to invoke another anger attack. Even so, she dared not look him in the eyes, not after what he did to her.
"Look, I'm sorry. This body is hard to control," he said halfheartedly. "Please, I want to gain your trust."
She turned her gaze to him once again. "It's hard to when you keep exploding like that."
"I'll try not to. Now, will you follow me?" he said, motioning to the door of her cage.
"What? Where?" she questioned, wondering what he wanted her to do.
"Just come on. You'll see." He walked over to the exit. Like he had done when he entered, he shoved his muzzle under the bottom and shoved it upward. Holding it open for her, Sandy soon followed him. Once they were both out, he dropped it, falling with a cliiingk. The werewolf climbed up to the windowsill, Sandy right behind him.
Stan heard a thud below him when he reached the top. Looking down, he saw that Sandy had lost her grip and fallen. "Get back up here, would ya?"
"I-I can't . . ." she said weakly, lying almost motionless on the carpet below. He rolled his eyes, then made a mighty leap down. He grabbed her arm tightly, and bound back up the wall in a matter of seconds. As soon as they got to the top, he threw her aside.
"Get on my back." As weak as she felt, she mustered up all her strength to climb up the beast's back. She put both paws on his shoulders, and gripped his sides with her legs. "Hold on . . .," he said, eyeing the ground about 20 feet below them.
Sandy gasped. "You . . . wouldn't . . .dare!"
Stan raised one of his eyebrows, and turned his head towards her. "Oh, wouldn't I?"
He stepped back then leaped forward, emitting a fierce roar when his feet left the ground, while Sandy screamed the entire way down.
Stan landed safely on his feet, but then lost his balance and fell on his side. Sandy crawled of his back, panting heavily. "I can't believe I lived through that . . . how did you?"
"I'm a werewolf," he explained. "We don't get hurt as easily as you hamsters."
"Whatever. What did you bring me down here for?" she asked in confusion.
Stan looked up to the moon. "See that?" Sandy nodded dumbly. "It's what controls most of my power. During the next lunar eclipse, if I am pure of heart, meaning I have killed no one in this form, I will gain the ability to shift from one form to the other whenever I desire."
"When is the next lunar eclipse?"
Stan paused for a moment. "In less than a month from now."
"Really? That's great! But what will you do until then?"
"Same as usual. Prowl the night, hoping I won't lose control. Elder Ham ruined his chances the first night by murdering Auntie Viv. He had no control, for his body switched back and forth whenever it felt it wanted to. The moon being strongest at full, he often changed form at that time, switching back when it resided. I, however, am different from him. My body will stay this way forever, unless I can successfully witness the solar eclipse."
"So-"
"I need to go. Meet me back here in exactly three weeks from tonight, in this very spot."
"Got it. Now what do you-"
"I said I need to go. Remember, Sandy. Three weeks. I'll be here, I promise." With that, he left her in the shadow of her owner's house., and ran off into the darkness once again.
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To be continued?