Biker Mice From Mars: By Myself

By Myself Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Slowly but steady, Charley made her way to Lake Michigan.
It wasn't exactly a leisurely drive, with the wind trying to knock over her bike, but come on, she wasn't a beginner.
She knew perfectly well how to ride a bike, in all kind of weather conditions.
That the mice never let her was just a whole other story.
You should think that she had more than just proven herself with the whole masked motorcyclist debacle, but they still treated her like she was made of glass.
Cracked glass, that would shatter into a million pieces with the slightest touch.
She was so much stronger than that.
At least she knew.
But, beginner or not, she had to take it slow right now.
It would be nuts to put the pedal to the medal in this weather.
She wasn't crazy, after all.
She wasn't Vinnie.

In the distance the already black sky darkened even more, telling her that the storm was about to reach Chicago.
Lightings reflected in the water of the lake, making it look even more sinister than it already was.
"Of course he needs to take off in the middle of the night with a major storm coming instead of, I dunno, a warm summer night for example", she grumbled to herself, but she wasn't really angry.
She was worried.
Worried about her friend.
The storm was just... collateral damage.

When she was close to the place where she and the mice used to hang out in the summer, the first raindrops started to fall.
Knowing that getting wet was inevitable, she determinedly steered her bike on the unpaved road that led to the small beach which was thoroughly hidden between the trees.
She knew he was there.
This was the one place not many people knew about and therefore, it was the perfect hangout for intergalactic heroes with their human side-kick.
Or the perfect hideout after a night full of terror and fear.
It was then when the sky opened its floodgates and rain now poured down on her, turning the sand under her wheels into mud within seconds.
But it wasn't gonna stop her.
Nothing was.

When she finally spotted Vinnie's bike, she was already soaked to the skin.
After parking her bike next to the cherry-red racer, she pulled off her helmet and looked at the lonely silhouette sitting close to the water.
There he was.
All alone.
No one should be alone when being in pain.

And so, she slid off her bike and slowly walked over to him.
Vinnie sat with his back towards her, his arms wrapped around his legs.
With his chin resting on his knees, he just stared into the distance with his big ears hanging low.
Even his antennas hung low, dangling like a cracked blade of grass.
The rain didn't seem to bother him, or maybe he was just too deep in thought to notice it.
He didn't seem to notice her either when she quietly sat down next to him in the mud.
The rain did bother her, but it wasn't gonna stop her.
Nothing was.

After taking in the same position as him, Charley rested her cheek on her knees and looked at him.
The first thing that hit her, was that she had never seen him this sad.
Or this quiet.
Or this motionless.
He was always so... bouncy.
Like a bouncing ball.
Not now he wasn't.
Now, a deflated balloon was a more apt comparison.
The rain turned his usual snow-white fur almost grey, or perhaps silver came closer.
It also made the muscles that were hidden beneath it more visible and her eyes followed the lines from his shoulder to his hand.
He was so strong.
Fearless.
But not now.

"Are you okay?"
She knew he wasn't.
But she had to ask.
Even though she knew he wasn't gonna answer beforehand, she still had to ask.
She was right, though.
Of course she was.
He didn't answer the question.
What he did was turning his head towards her and his ruby-red eyes locked with hers.
Raindrops slid down his now spiky fur and she saw how a few of them got stuck in his lashes, preventing them from falling into his eyes.
His sad eyes.
He blinked before turning back his head, thereby freeing the drops from their short captivity and they slowly rolled down his cheek.
Like it were salt tears instead of sweet raindrops.
He wasn't okay.
Far from it.