N.d.A. : Ok, let's try.
This is my first attempt to translate one of my stories in English, I hope will turn out well!
I tried to keep my writing style , and at the same time, adapting it to the new language ... I honestly do not know what is out ...
Let me know what you think! For me, it is very important to every suggestion and every correction you make me so I can learn better!
One last thing: I don't know if some "sayings" are universal or not, to be sure, I explained all that seemed a bit ... dialectal ^.^
The story is set on the same evening of the episode Road Ravens ... Charley discovers something about Throttle ... and reflects on fate.
None of the characters in this story belong to me, they are the property of Rick Ungar, author of "Biker Mice from Mars". This story was written without any profit.
BLINDNESS
Charley was heading the scoreboard with a supply of medicines, food and dvd: everything that could be useful to keep quiet three balls of fur scrambled to his knowledge, during theirs convalescence.
The last rascality of Limburgher, had left its mark on each of the valiant fighters, and she was so worried that she decided to close the garage for a some days to take care of them: Throttle had assured her, over the phone, that there was no need, he could deal with him about everything, but his voice had seemed so tired and low for her to decide otherwise (not to mention the background of almost constant complaints from Vinnie ). Besides, also he had been reduced to hurt, and needed to rest. She sighed heavily reflecting on the fact that it would be a hard week for her. Very, very hard.
The first thing that struck her, just joined the scoreboard, was silence: normally you could have heard the noise a block away, but now you you don't hear a fly1. The board was dark, not a small light, but the TV was playing. That those three wretches were left?
Charley glanced at the corner where were parked usually the bikes: they were all three of them, shiny and impressive in their silence, Lil'Hoss was the only one to send a low signal of recognition. The guys were in the house.
She nodded to the bike to greet her, then walked around the couch where he found the '"nurse" on duty: Throttle had been overcome by sleep and was fast asleep on the couch, lying on the hip of less massacred, with glasses between the fingers of the hand right, left near the nose, Charley walked silently to give him a look. The breath of her golden friend was a little tired and short, every breath was broken in half by the pain of broken ribs. Yet, not even the constant pain was enough to keep him awake, after the fatigue of the battle and to take care of his companions.
She turned off the television and walked around the wall that enclosed the area where they had placed the beds: Modo was sleeping on his back, with his leg in plaster resting on a couple of pillows, and a blanket it wrapped around the torso; Vinnie was in the next bed, huddled under his quilt, with only the white ears that stuck out from the bundle, his mask was resting on the mattress next to the pillow, which took curiously the form (Vinnie had mentioned that his mask was composed of an alloy can to take the shape of its support). Charley smiled to himself and let them rest, oh yeah, when they slept were so sweet ... she retrieved Throttle's blanket and walked over on the couch to cover her friend. The reaction of the fawn mouse, however, came completely unexpected.
The cloth had only touched him, when he flipped open his eyes with a strange expression: cold, absent and Charley was sure to be a goner at the same time; in much the same way that a lizard knows that it is dead, an istant before a hawk grab it. The tail struck her violently and a hand grabbed her by the neck with amazing accuracy, carefully closing the trachea and pressing on the carotid artery.
Charley gasped, she did not know how, but the next moment she found herself lying on the ground, with Throttle astride her, her arms locked over his head and his face snarling a whisker away from her face. Almost did not recognize him, was furious expression on his face, his lips drawn back and teeth bared ... even his odor seemed different ... as it becomes fast the mind to the brink of death ... Oh God, shouted a voice in her head, it might bite! HE WANT BITE ME! She had never thought about how those teeth were sharp, she had never thought of them as a weapon, but now ... the growl changed tone, his mouth was open ... Charley couldn't scream, she was petrified and was rapidly running out of air in her lungs ... her eyes could not break away from the teeth that they continually nearer ... at least until they are pointed on his scarlet eyes.
Time seemed to stand still and the young Earth's stared horrified the eyes of blood that did not see her: the irises still retained the color of rubies more precious, a pure red, perfect, glowing, but the edge of the pupil, which should be round and smooth , was frayed and tattered, reminding an old flag that had waved too. But the most horrible thing, was the triple series of dark metal diaphragm that moved within the opaque eyes, they seemed to be the aims of a camera, but they twitched unnaturally, horribly dark, above the bluish background of the lens, now opaque for scar tissue.
The sight of Charley began to tarnish itself... she should have known it: never wake up brusquely a war veteran ... Vinnie and Modo had warned her that it was dangerous to suddenly wake up their, because they could react even before they know where and with who they were, and do some silliness... especially Throttle ... especially when he was guarding to two injured friends ...
"Charley?!"
"Oh, Mother of Mars! Charley! "
She felt the pressure disappear from her throat and she taken a quick and labored breath of fresh air before starting to cough. She was still dazed and took a bit of time, between a gasp and the other, to understand that it was no longer in danger: Throttle had recognized her.
"Charley, I'm sorry! Forgive me, I did not do it, I did not!" Kept repeating the bronze mouse, while helped her sit up.
She clung him, trying to control the rush of adrenaline that had flooded his veins and tarnished her senses. He held her in his strong arms, and the girl, greedily inhaled his scent sweet, spicy, exotic and of distant lands. Slowly the fear left her and she pulled away a little: the creature of just before was gone, in to the its place there was now a family, embarrassed and worried Martian mouse. She chuckled wiping away a tear and hoping that he had not see her.
"Charley, I don't know how to apologize!" He was saying with his head down and eyes on the ground.
"No matter, Modo and Vinnie had warned me not to do such things, but ... I guess I forgot ... "she chuckled sheepishly.
Yes: by dint to see them play and surround her with tenderness, she had forgotten that those three were fighting since they were kids, and they had seen and learned things that no one, whatever their race or planet, should never learn or see.
She had forgotten, by dint of seeing them smile, which were warriors, and that they had already killed, and they could do it again at any time; a bit as a child who growing up seeing his father's gun and he forget, despite the recommendations, which is a weapon ... Until he, accidentally, press the trigger.
"All right Charley?"
The voice low and sensual of her friend, tore her from her musings: "It's all okay, babe"
"I'm sorry"
"Oh, now I've tired me of it! Look at me, I'm fine! Nothing happened, you see? "
The Throttle's queue squirmed, he did not look up, his ears twitched rattling the earring spiked club. The young girl understood the anguish of her furry friend, but she was fine (now that the fear was gone) and she wanted to show him that nothing had happened: she put her hands on either side of the face and forced him to raise his head to look her into eyes and show him that everything was fine.
"Throttle, will you please loo..."
"I can look you, if you like, but I don't see you," interrupted Throttle with a resigned sigh, sooner or later she would find out anyway, he thought. He hated this kind of situation.
Charley gasped, and withdrew her hands as if she had been burned: the tattered irises were still there, reds as blood just gushed out, also the objectives of black metal. It was not a hallucination due to the lack of air. The bionic lenses were looking for, but could not find her.
"My God," she murmured, "You're ... You're …"
"Blind" he smiled sadly: "You can say, you know? I don't offend me"
"But how ..."
"I told you, we had all given something for the cause, the first time we met: Vinnie, half of his face; Modo an arm and an eye ... I ... both eyes"
"Now I understand why you always wear your glasses"
Throttle nodded: "Karbuncle amused himself also on me," he said with a shiver down his spine, remembering those horrible days: "but we fled before he could correct all the flaws of my new eyes ... honestly I did not really want to come back for allow him finish his the job, so I wear these lenses to get around the problem "
Charley was shocked: "All this time I never suspected anything. I mean: I know you for months and you do not seem quite ... blind "the word still sounded awkward in her mouth, for her.
He chuckled, pulling himself up from the floor and giving it an arc to the tail around him, passing on the ground. That's why, before, he hit me with his tail, and how did he know where was my throat: he uses its tail as a probe.
"They are here," she murmured, guessing what, the bronze mouse, was looking for, "Your glasses. Wait, I'll take for you "
And if he did not like? Heaven, I offended him? Besides, if he hides it so well, maybe it's just to avoid similar situations ...
Throttle seemed stiffened: he hated this kind of situation, made him feel disabled, weak, uncomfortable ... and very, very angry with a scientist of him knowledge ... but it was not the fault of Charley, and he didn't want to appear ungrateful, not after everything she did for them ...
"Thank you, Charley-girl," he said softly as he took the glasses that she had placed in his hand; he felt better when he was able to wear them and even better when he could finally see that Charley didn't report even a scratch.
"Unbelievable" whispered the girl.
Throttle chuckled, guessing what want to do the human girl, remembering how many questions she had done to Modo about his robotic arm (even though she had carefully avoided asking the exact reason for amputation, for not awaken painful memories) it was not of malice, she was just curious, and much of the information she had used to help the gray giant, or even to curb the uncomfortable situations that could arise because of his metal arm. For Charley, he could put aside his pride, after all .
"Come on, sit down, I'll go to take a couple of Root Beer before" he sighed heading towards the fridge.
"Before what?"
"Before you do me the third degree2"
Charley laughed: "If you will not ... I'll respect your privacy, I will not ..."
"I think I owe you some explanation. Well, let's sit down, before the ribs kill me "
Throttle flopped down on couch, she took a seat next to him, lifting his legs and putting them in her lap: she always liked physical contact with people ... especially on a cold evening, and especially if that person had a temperature of 38°C constant.
"I'll crush you..." he began to rebuke .
"Nah, you warm me, you've to keep the higher heating in here, you know?"
Throttle chuckled, settling a pillow behind his back to be more relieved, "Come on, shoot Charley-girl" he urged her.
Charley sighed, "Why do not you ever talk about this?"
"Because you not ever ask me"
"Right," she smiled, "Does it hurt?"
"Only the strong light, the glasses also protect me from this"
"I still cannot believe it ... but, you're not afraid of losing they? I mean if you lose ...? "
"I would be completely blind, but it remain my other senses. I did put a small safe to reduce the risk of they slipping away, it works quite well "
Charley reminded that in fact she had seen Throttle receive shots also quite violent, but he never lost his glasses. While she was thinking, the bronze mouse pulled them from the nose, and the girl noticed a slight decrease in the ears just before he remove the lens. He gave they to her, and she looked at them closely for a while: they were a bit heavier than she expected, and the lenses were almost completely opaque, she examined the small plates at the edge of the temples, then she looked at the mouse lying next to her, Throttle staring at the empty , his eyes were still, but the ears had become more active, listening carefully to the sounds to compensate for blindness.
"Do you not see absolutely anything?"
"I'm still sensitive to light ... or to its absence, but I step from total white to total black, this is the only thing I can distinguish ... I have noticed that in some lighting conditions, I can discern some shade "
"For example, now you can see me?"
He turned his head toward her, her innocent curiosity began to amuse him and he decided to play the game, trying focusing noticed an area slightly darker in the white glow around him.
"I see a vague form that could be yours ... Do you have a raised arm? "
The tail curled around thearm that Charley kept up and scanned on her hand, before she could portray her fingers and hide the mocking gesture that she was doing.
"You've made me a rude gesture! You coward! "So saying, he jumped over her for torturing tickle, until an abrupt movement caused him a pang stronger than the other in the ribs.
"Ouch! I forgot ... the ribs ... "He groaned dropping back.
Charley was still laughing while asked him if everything was ok.
Throttle nodded, suddenly he did not feel so crippled, so ... useless ... now that he thought he had not even attempted to recover his glasses. And to think of it did not interest him much. Charley made him feel good ... it reminded him so much Carbine ... even joked with her in the same mode? Not really, at that time he could still see with his own eyes how beautiful was Carbine ... the only love of his life...
"Modo would be shocked, if he knew that you doing this rude gesture" he scolded playfully pricking her with his tail. Charley squealed with delight.
"About Modo" she said while grabbing the tail to stop the assault. The appendix is relaxed in her hands, and she began to play rolling it around the fingers, after absently put the glasses as if they were a circle: "How are Modo and Vinnie?"
"I gave their painkillers, as usual, that stuff put them out of action"
Charley nodded: the painkillers used on Earth had a particular effect on the Martians, was a bit like a mix between a hangover with all the trimmings and a trip to laughing gas. Normally after a few hours lay them out, making them sleep for hours and hours.
"You have not taken anything?" No, he had to be on guard. He would not take anything that would undermine its clarity: his companions are his responsibility, and Throttle does not escape never to his duties.
"Aspirin. I wanted to give it also Vincent: he has a slight fever, but since that was threatening suicide if I had not done anything to ease the pain ... "
"Yeah, I guess ... Vinnie hurt is a condemnation, that's why I did not want you to stay alone to take care of them"
He shrugged his shoulders: "I'm used to: it is not the first time this has happened"
"I guess" How many times have happened? How many have been through? How many more will have to go through?
"What were you looking at before?" She asked him to change the subject, she wanted to make him more questions, but did not want to risk compromising the beautiful atmosphere that was created, and then decided that maybe it was the case of delay.
"I listened to a documentary on the Discovery Channel ... they were talking about Rome ... but I imagine that's over ..."
The girl giggled and turned on the TV, it was over, but was about to begin another: "Ah, the Roman Empire, I saw it too some time ago, very nice, maybe I also recorded, tomorrow I make a jump to find it, if you want "
"Yep, it was interesting," he murmured Throttle with narrowed eyes, "I'd like to see it... You know that no one wore pants? Only dresses and T-shirt "
Charley laughed: "They called tunics, and then what do you expect? They lived thousands of years ago "
"So what? With all the inventions they did, they could struggled a bit and add to the list the pants "
"Well, after a few centuries they have done"
"Yeah, I'd do it after 5 minutes ..."
Charley laughed heartily, Throttle was not very awake and began to talk nonsense: "Do you want glasses? Is starting a special on Savana "
He shook his head with his eyes closed, "I listen only" murmured sleepily.
As no, macho-mouse, she thought.
It took a few minutes for the tail, still wrapped around the wrist and fingers her, relax completely; just as I thought ... a stab of fear took her into thinking that, if she had moved, Throttle could respond again as before, but then she remembered that Vinnie had explained her that it was different if they fell asleep next to someone: it was as if their minds recorded the number present before disconnecting and react only if it had approached another ... there were just aliens ...
She found himself re-examining the events which had just passed, the Martians biting? Throttle would really bitten her? What would have happened if he had not fully woken up in time to stop? Perhaps he would kill her.
Killed.
It was what they did every day, right? They joked about it, trying not to think about it, to limit the damage (unfortunately for the door of his garage and the tower of Limburgher, restricted only to those people) trying not to kill people, but she began to think of all the times that there had been explosions and collapses, how many men in the pay of Plutarkian they had not raised without their knowing it, perhaps because they were committed to rescue the tail?
They were murderers? No. Absolutely. She thought about Vinnie and his ramshackle laugh, at Modo and his passion for fishing ... but they were dangerous creatures. This without a doubt. They were war machines, forged for it and accustomed to it from birth, they had seen off many lives, especially their fellow mice, and this kind of thing always makes a statement.
She looked at the group's leader, Throttle was already asleep soundly and she could feel the weight of his legs, completely relaxed on her. He was a sweet person, a boy perhaps a bit timid, with a lively intelligence and a natural curiosity towards anything new; who knows what would have become if it was not the war broke out on Mars ... maybe ... a studious, or a rock star if he used that wonderful voice that he found himself ... no, it was more likely that Vinnie had a future as a rock star. She smiled: overpaid and extra vitiated. She saw him just fine. Modo would still have his wife and a child or two ... and maybe a garage as she ...
They could become anything they wanted to be, but was not given a chance, in his place had given a blaster.
And when it was over? What would become of them after the war ... always assuming that they could see the end of the conflict. They not were yokels, but by what she understood their education, stopped on Martian equivalent of high school in the best case, of course frequented between battles and the other, so you could easily imagine how inadequate was to be their general knowledge; they knew a lot about guns and motorcycles, but lasers do not grow plants, or reconstructing a devastated world. What place could there be for them after?
None of the three, had made plans for the long-term future for their lives, in effect, that there think? On Mars there are still people who think of next? Certainly not the children of war as those three, for their hope in what was a luxury. They just live from day to day, and after the war ... well, they would have thought after.
War is terrible, not only for the lives that devours: it is a beast even more hungry. It swallows culture, knowledge and history of entire peoples, feast with the hopes and future of the people who are overwhelmed, and behind if you do let debris and empty shells that do not know how to start, because, for them, there's never been a first ... And without a first, can not be a later.
Now the beast had kidded and his herald, Laurence Limburgher, had come to Earth to prepare the way for a second and unleash devastation on her own planet. Her stomach clenched. Her mother, her father, her cousins and relatives were deleted? Left rotting in piles to rot because the survivors simply could not bury them all? And the lady in the supermarket? And Roddy? The pizza-guy who still could not understand how many pizzas could eat a girl alone? (Obviously she had never informed of the presence of her special guests) and 'old man she that had seen walking down the street as he walked to the scoreboard? The one with the blue scarf and the little dog with a ridiculous waterproof coat orange-flash ... She had seen before but did not even know his name, she did not know him. Not to mention the woman with the van full of kids shouting, that had honk at the traffic lights ... What epitaph she could hope to put on her grave? The panic choked her.
It would have really happened? Would be all dead? It was the end? Was about to end it all? She did not want to die!
She wanted to go by his uncle Joe, who was breeding heavy draft horses on his farm and see again those giants who competed in competitions tow the county! She wanted to eat, with her mother and her father, the pancakes that she continued to burn somehow! She wanted to scold even her cousin because he did the oil change on his bike at each passage of Halley's comet!
" HAY!"
Charley offhanded awoke from his trance to the whine of the golden mouse: caught in the web of her ruminations of death and destruction imminent, she had come to twist the tail of poor sleeping mouse that had woken up abruptly. Now he was sitting with his back rigid and his nose quivered sniffing at around.
Funny: this time nothing happened. No aggression, no growl. So he really was aware of his surroundings, even in his sleep?
"Hey Charley! It's not a shred! "Protested emphatically pathetic Throttle, referring to its tail.
"Sorry," she laughed nervously, then let out a softly sob .
The ears of the mouse reached out to her, and his nose quivered while sniffing air. There was a smell of fear, fear and despair ... but no real danger around ...
"Hey babe, what's the problem? Bad dream, "he asked softly, leaning toward her.
Charley sighed, shaking off the last remnants of panic: "Yes and no, I was thinking the war ... it come here ... Throttle, I not want to die"
"No, it will not come," he assured her, the tail slipped from her hands and ran down the arm to the articulation of the jaw, drawing a line hot on her skin cold and clammy, shortly after she felt his hand on her cheek, a fleeting thought reminded that the gesture was not a simple caress, but his alternative way to "see". The way to move of that appendix reminded her of the tentacle of an octopus that probe the shell of a crab ...
"We will not allow those filthy snouts of fish do anything like this. It 'a promise "he was saying with that soft voice and whispered. Such a voice could not lie. She smiled and slipped out from under his legs to hug him.
They stayed like that for a long time, until the terrestrian did not feel better; Throttle was about to doze off, when he heard her moving a little ': "I ask you a strange question?" Her voice was back to normal.
Arieccola3. Now what would she ask? ...
"Tell me"
"You guys ... and I mean you guys for Martians in general ... you ... bite?"
"What?" Of everything she could ask him, this was the last thing him might expect, then a thought overcame him. Before she woke me up with a start! He reacted instinctively, and in fact the first thing he remembered, was that he was straddling her with a hand on her throat ... how close she was his mouth? He do not remember! before could have happened matter what! It was just horrible! He had tried to biting her?!
"I've been bitten you?" he asked too quickly, away from her and recovering the glasses to make sure something was not missed his first exam. Damn, but there was no smell of the blood of Charley in the air.
"No, but you were so close to me, that I couldn't help but think about it ..."
Throttle sagged relieved: "Ah, Charley-girl! For a moment I thought I did! "
She laughed, did not understand the actual extent of what she had suggested, he thought with a bit of discomfort, but the rest was a terrestrial, what could she know of the Martians taboo ?
"Well, if you do, I not think I still had a face with which you can talk!" She went on with amusement.
"Charley. Biting is a very serious thing "
"And believe it! No offense my boy, but with the teeth that you find yourself to be a pretty bad! "
"You do not understand," he insisted seriously: "Biting is a very serious thing for us. No one should even think you can do "
Charley turned serious: "Why? It a weapon like another weapon"
"It a taboo on Mars: Do not biting. Ever. And considered a bit ... as your blasphemies, but more serious, not only for a practical reason... biting is an affront serious , or even accuse anyone can do it "
"Oooh ... I didn't know ... So, no Martian bites? Well ... this raises me! "She concluded starting to laugh.
"Not really," he continued, crossing his muscular arms and trying to ignore the hilarity of his friend, they were getting into an argument a bit prickly, of which he did not like to talk about: "There is a population of Martians who does, and believe me ... they are not seen very well "
Charley laughed, imagining what it would be to see two of her friends to take a bite each other's tails.
"Who's bite who ?" Said a deep voice behind them.
Modo was standing a short distance from them, leaning on crutches that Charley had given him, he stared at his captain with a look upset and accuser.
"Modo! Welcome back to the world of the living! " trilled Charley: " No one has bitten anyone. Throttle was explaining me the fact of the prohibition to bite the faces of others on Mars " then chuckled: " I think something a bit strange, but I have to warn you that, on earth, there is nothing like that, so think twice before you overwhelm with your next fight! "concluded snapping teeth dangerously close to the ears of mouse fawn.
"Yeah, and I think that there is not even an etiquette in dealing with other people's tail" pointed Throttle, trying to smooth the furry of the appendix in question.
Modo giggled, relieved that his brother not had just committed what he feared most in the world he could do: "Ah! You're a whining, bro! What on earth could have made you mrs Charley ?!"
"What! Do you want the list? While you were sleeping, she tried to make me have a heart attack with a blanket, stole my glasses, made rude gestures and looks as she has reduced my tail! It 'a public danger! And she is not a mrs! "
Charley pretended to pout.
"Me! Hear, hear! Coming from someone who spends his time crashing here and around the world, does something! "
Modo raised an eyebrow, he had not understood anything. Apart from one thing: "immediately reneged on what you said"
"What?"
"About Charley-ma'am!"
"First you should kill me" challenged Throttle, finally a good excuse for a healthy and invigorating fistfight between friends.
"This can be done"
The next instant, the two rolled in a wild brawl on the floor in front of the couch laughing and shouting, apparently oblivious of their wounds ... but without being able to wake Vinnie.
"Different countries, different customs" Charley sighed to herself as she moved cautiously to put the sofa between himself and the two rowdy. Apparently they were better. Much better.
1- It is said that not even hear a fly flying, when you want to say that in a given place, there is a absolute silence.
2- It is said that do someone the third degree, when it overwhelms the other person of questions, questions usually also very pushy, accurate, timely and annoying ... actually derived from a Freemason practice, but not too lengthy too… ^.^
3- is difficult to explain the term, the translation that is closest, I think it's "Oh no, is that he begins to do / talk about!" The person who says it, is exasperated, but at the same time amused by what is happening. ... I do not know if I can explain it well ...
Well, how did I do? What do you think? Let me know! ^.^