Hi everyone! Man, I'm on a roll right now – two updates in two days! (I uploaded the next chapter of Closer to Home yesterday, you should go check it out, hint hint.)

Anyway, enjoy this next chapter of The Nagging Dark, and if you have time please review…there's really no point in continuing to write this if nobody is reading it, so if you do read it, if you could take the time to just quickly tell me what you think of it so far, that would be fantastic. Thanks!

-Genie

Despite the general air of uneasiness, the five hamsters were eventually able to get to sleep, knowing that they would need all of their strength for the day to come. Boss, however, was still experiencing his recurring dream of Andre's death and his inability to stop it, and once again awoke violently in the midst of it.

Breathing heavily and attempting to compose himself, Boss felt a comforting warmth and realized that Bijou had fallen asleep leaning against him. He smiled to himself and then looked up, taking stock of the burrow. Having spent a good portion of his life underground, Boss had developed excellent night vision and his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness around him. On the opposite side of the burrow, Howdy and Dexter were also fast asleep, snuggled against each other for warmth. Amy, however, was nowhere to be found.

"Amy?" Boss whispered into the darkness. No response. Gently and without waking her, Boss moved Bijou onto the floor of the burrow and made his way aboveground, where Amy's scent led him. Once he was there, it didn't take him long to find her. She was leaning against a tree not far from the burrow, silent and apparently deep in thought. She jumped a bit when Boss appeared beside her.

"Boss!" she gasped, putting a paw to her heart to steady herself. "You startled me."

"Well, you had me worried, so I guess we're even," Boss replied. "I woke up and you weren't in the burrow. What are you doing out here?"

"Just…thinking," she replied, looking away from Boss and into the darkness of the woods beyond.

"Can't you do your thinking down there?" Boss retorted, motioning in the direction of the burrow. "What if Scuzz does come after us tonight? What if he finds you just standing out here?"

"Well…" Amy seemed hesitant to answer. "I…I thought that if Scuzz were to find me, maybe then he would leave you alone. You know, that maybe if I went back to him, then you and Bijou would no longer be in danger."

"That's crazy talk and you know it," Boss replied. "You know Scuzz. He revels in the pain he causes others. All he wants right now is to hurt me by hurting Bijou, and not even you can stop him from wanting that."

Amy sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry, I just…I guess I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I was hoping that Scuzz had changed since back then."

"Oh, yeah, he's changed all right," Boss said sarcastically. "You are aware that he just kidnapped two of my friends and held them for ransom, the ransom being Bijou, right?"

Amy was staring at the ground. Boss noticed that there were tears in her eyes and put a tentative paw on her shoulder.

"Amy, you're not…still in love with him, are you?"

Amy looked up at him. "You've got to be kidding me," she replied. "Boss, he killed my brother. I would have to be out of my mind to still love that bastard. No," she shook her head, the tears tracing shiny trails down her cheeks. "I could never love him again, even if he had changed." She lifted a paw and placed it on top of Boss's, which was still resting on her shoulder.

Boss felt a familiar sensation then, a tingle that made his breath catch in his throat and his heart skip a beat. He knew he had to ask her the question on his mind, though he was afraid to hear the answer.

"Then, do you…do you still love…me?"

Amy sighed and squeezed Boss's paw tight, as if she never wanted to let go. Then she looked deep into his eyes, her own eyes now overflowing with tears.

"Boss, you're the only one who has ever shown me real love," she replied, trembling. "How could I ever stop loving you?"

Boss took her face in his paws then, returning her gaze fully, watching the light of the moon reflected in her eyes as it danced and swam in the tears coursing down her face. He wanted more than anything to kiss her, to remember her taste. But it would be wrong, wouldn't it?

Instead, he pulled her closer and wrapped her in his arms, his chin resting on top of her head. She returned the embrace, gripping the fur at his back for dear life, burying her face in his chest and letting the tears flow freely.

After a few moments, when Amy's sobs had subsided, she released Boss from her grasp and pulled away. She let out a few sniffles, wiped the last of the tears from her eyes and looked at him with an attempt at a smile.

"You really love Bijou, don't you?"

"I –" Boss began. He tried to decide how to answer. He wasn't sure he even knew the answer. "I thought I did," he finally replied, "until you showed up. Now I'm not sure what to think."

"You can't let yourself fall for me again!" Amy told him. "You could have such a happy life with Bijou. You could never have that with me."

"But I don't know how Bijou feels about me, or if there is even a chance of us being together," Boss replied. "And who says we couldn't be happy together? I know that there's a lot of pain there for you, Amy, but once this whole thing is over, well, maybe we could work past it. Together."

Amy was silent for a moment, studying his face in the warm glow of the moonlight. She could read his eyes just as clearly as ever, and it was plain to see that all the love he had felt for her back then was still there. She wanted to believe that they could be happy together, that this whole mess would wrap itself up in a nice, neat little package and everything would be fine and dandy again. But that was wishful thinking, and nothing more.

"That's just like you, Boss," she said finally. "The eternal optimist." Amy sighed and took Boss' paws in her own. "But who knows how this is going to end? Who knows if we'll even still be alive when it's all over?"

"Don't talk like that!" Boss replied, squeezing her paws in reassurance. "We've already made it through so much together. We're going to work this one out, too."

"But the last time I went against Scuzz, Andre wound up dead!" Amy cried, unable to stop the tears that were now returning to her eyes. "Maybe this time it will be you, or me, or both of us!"

Boss didn't know what to say, so he simply wrapped Amy in his arms and let her cry into his fur. Maybe she was right. Maybe there just wasn't going to be a happy ending.

The first traces of sunlight were making their way into the burrow when Boss awoke the following morning. He and Amy had returned to the safety of the den and to sleep soon after their encounter that night. He glanced about the burrow and saw that the others were beginning to awaken as well, stretching and yawning as consciousness overtook them.

"Good morning," Amy whispered softly to him, placing a paw on his shoulder and managing a weak smile. He returned the smile and stood up.

"I'm going to get some fresh air," he said, then made his way to the burrow entrance. He had only been gone for a moment when his voice penetrated the burrow again, now loud and alarmed.

"Oh my God!"

Upon hearing his exclamation, Amy sprang to her feet and ran to his side. Bijou, Howdy and Dexter were now wide awake as well, sharing anxious glances as they waited for Boss and Amy to return with an explanation. When neither did, Bijou nervously got to her feet and went to join them outside.

A few seconds passed while Howdy and Dexter remained motionless in the den, a tense silence filling the air around them. Then they heard Bijou scream, a terrified, terrifying sound.

"Pashmina!" Bijou was sobbing now. "Oh, God, Pashmina!"

Hearing her name, Howdy and Dexter exchanged horrified glances, then sprang to their feet and dashed to the burrow's entrance.

The first thing they saw was Amy, a paw pressed to her mouth in shock, the color drained from her face. She was shaking, staring at something on the ground nearby. Then they saw Bijou, who had fallen backwards into Boss' arms. She was sobbing. Boss was attempting to comfort her, but having no success, as he appeared to be on the verge of a complete breakdown himself.

And then they saw what it was that had caused these reactions. Howdy saw it first and grabbed Dexter's arm with a grip nearly strong enough to cut off his circulation. Then Dexter caught sight of it and immediately fell to his knees, aghast.

There on the grass in front of them was a tattered pink scarf, streaked with blood.