Chapter Two
Chirp scampered along the shaking wood beam. He teetered cautiously at the edge, then turned to look back at his friend. Wait, where was Ben? He noticed a red splotch where his tiger-furred friend had been standing, and a piece of black fur.
Chirp hurried over to the other end. The wood beam was now tipping...
The brown mouse quickly hopped to the other side and jumped onto a stable grass platform that had the cheese on it. The wood was about to fall, and his friend was the shaman. Where was he?
Chirp decided to take the risk, and ran as fast as he could to the hole.
"ACK!" something gripped Chirp's throat from behind. The mouse fainted with shock as he was dragged away.
Leo quickly helped Cary put the broken platform back to it's normal spinning state. "Thanks," said the tan mouse, Cary.
"Let me tell you a secret," said Leo quietly, beckoning Cary over with his paw.
"What?" she asked, confused. "My friends are gone. Chirp and Ben, they were in a vanilla room last night and they aren't anywhere. I've searched for them, and they... vanished," whispered Leo, sorrow in his eyes.
Cary placed her paw on his brown shoulder softly. "I'm sure they're fine," she remarked gently. "Have you tried all of the maps?"
Leo shook his head. "Well, then after we're done repairing the last three maps, we can look," Cary whispered.
"Really? You'd help?" questioned Leo, cracking a smile.
"Of course."
Sash walked gloomily across the map, glancing around. "I hate repairing maps!" he spat angrily, his black fur bristling.
"You're like me..." a voice whispered. Sash spun, eyes wide. "Who are you?" he asked, looking around in confusion.
"I have no name," said the voice. Something poked Sash's shoulder. "Where are you?" he squealed, screwing his eyes shut fearfully.
"Don't be afraid. If you help me, I won't hurt you."
Sash's left eye fluttered open. "What do you need?" he inquired steadily.
"I need an assassin to do my dirty work for me," answered the dark and serious voice. Sash thought about it for a moment. "Fine..." he muttered.
A black-furred mouse, looking almost exactly like Sash, stepped out.
He had an eye-patch and a short but sharp knife held in his teeth by the hilt. It's black tip gleamed and Sash stepped back. "You'll need this," squeaked the mouse, handing him the knife. Sash accepted it and nodded.
"Put this on," the mouse commanded gruffly, shoving a black material at him. Upon further inspection, Sash noticed two holes. "My head?" he asked, confused. "Duh," growled the shadowy mouse.
Sash quickly pulled the material over his head, it fit snugly. "Like a mask," he whispered to himself. "Exactly," agreed his master.
"I'm hungry..." Sash mumbled, his eyes lingering on the big, tasty piece of cheese not five feet away. His instructor shoved him with force, knocking Sash onto the ground. He gasped as the knife fell from his grasp and cut his paw.
"Don't even try," the mouse hissed. "Now, I want you to kill two mice. They are trying to find their friends, who I have kept prisoner. I do not want any mice in the way of my plans. One is Leo, a bright tiger-furred male mouse. The other is Cary, a sandy kind of tan mouse. Leo often carries around a red lightsaber, while Cary has a red bandana tied around her neck," stated the shady mouse.
Sash nodded. "I'll have it done by tomorrow night," he said firmly, gripping the knife tightly in his sharp teeth. His mask flapped slightly in the breeze, and Sash batted at it with annoyance before bowing to his master.
"Farewell, my servant..." hushed the tall black mouse, already vanished into the night.
What do you think?