The Hedgehunter: A TAWOG Fanfic

Chapter 9: Wishful Thinking

The sky above the Chanax headquarters groaned with thunder, rumbling as if in the middle of a rockslide. Lighting blasted amidst the clouds. On the windows, the beginnings of rain drops began to form. Through the halls, Gumball, Darwin, and Carrie continued their ascent, bolting through floors and stairways, spurred on by a potent cocktail of determination and fear. This was it. This was where and when it was going to end, one way or another.

Floor numbers became irrelevant in their frantic rush to the top. Thirty. Forty. Fifty. Yet higher and higher. Such a climb would have been utterly agonizing for them under normal circumstances, but their grit kept them moving. Every floor they exceeded only made their hearts beat faster. Every stairwell, tenfold. Sixty. Seventy. Ever since their ravenous hunter had been flung from the window to the streets below, they saw no sign of him. No footsteps, no destruction, no laughter, nothing. Just them, running through the headquarters of Chanax Inc as the storm outside gradually worsened, as if it were swelling in correspondence with their ascent.

"C'mon...we're getting close." Gumball urged the rest of them on. "How many floors has it been? What did we just pass? Like, eighty? Eighty-five?"

"I think!" Darwin shouted in response. "Well I think it was like, eighty-seven?"

"Oh gosh, this is it! Y'know you'd think I'd be tired after all this running!"

"If I had a respiratory system, I'd certainly be tired." Carrie responded, dashing above the both of them. "I'm sure I'd be moving faster if I could feel adrenaline too."

"Wait. Ghosts don't get adrenaline rushes?" Darwin asked.

"I don't...think? Look, that doesn't matter now! Just keep moving!"

Ahead of them, at the very end of the hallway they were running down, they saw a large set of double doors. Sitting on the side of the doors was a sign displaying the floor numbers associated with it. It read "To Floor 90 – 99." They were close. So close.

"That's it...that's it!" Carrie shouted, almost cracking a relieved smile at the sight. "Just past those doors! We're in the home stretch now!"

The other two didn't need to be told twice. Nine more floors. Nine more floors and it would all be over. Nine more floors and they'd finally be free of this nightmare. Nine more floors and-

With a great, booming crash, the double doors were blasted off their hinges and flung forward. The three immediately skidded to a halt and ducked their heads as the doors sailed over them and down the hallway, tumbling into splinters on the floor. Slowly, the trio opened their eyes and gazed down the darkness of the hallway beyond the doors. It was silent, save for the rain drumming outside, for a little too long to be comfortable. As surprised as they all were, they all knew in their heart of hearts what lay beyond the shadows.

Then, footsteps. Heavy, methodical footsteps.

In spite of their instincts telling them to book it the other way, to back away from the door and hide, Gumball, Darwin, and Carrie remained where they were. They had nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to go but forward.

The lantern glowed from shadows like an infernal searchlight. The Hedgehunter strode forth from the darkness as if molded from the shadows themselves. His shovel dragged behind him, burning blade leaving a smoking trail as it ground against the tile. Bits of rubble and asphalt were shaken loose from the hedge that made up his body. His green eyes glowered back at Gumball, Darwin, and Carrie.