HARDSHIPS
Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Ungar's Biker Mice series, or any of the characters.
Author Note: Constructive criticism is always welcomed by the author. Suggestions for the story are welcome, too.
CHAPTER 8
...
An hour had past since the bloody torture in the Main Chamber had ended.
Primer had been unable to tear his eyes from the injured human as she was carted off somewhere by the Sand-Raider leader's goons after she'd passed out from the last whip-lash delivered.
But now the young female mouse had no idea where exactly she'd been taken.
Unable to do anything but wait out for news concerning her '' sister's condition, Primer silently sat in the corner of her cold, dark prison with her knees pulled up and her chin resting on top of them. She was crying silent tears that dripped down her cheeks and onto her knees.
Click! Creekk!
Clomp, clomp
The opening of the squeeky dungeon door and the approaching footsteps had Primer almost flying to her feet. The light from a torch immediately brought light into the hall, making the young mouse blink slightly in the sudden brightness.
Gyro walked along the hall of the dungeon with Charley's limp, battered form thrown over his wide shoulders in a fireman's carry. Opening the door of Primer's cell, the tall mouse- rat hybrid slipped quickly inside.
Primer only stared at him silently, the remains of the seething fury still visible in her features. Her wine-red eyes were still narrowed, her round ears pulled back flat against her head. Her tail flicking violently from side to side.
But she calmed down somewhat when she noticed the somber expression on Gyro's face as he closed the door behind him with his long tail and very gently lowered the human's immobile form on the hard floor beside Primer.
Said mouse immediately scuttled closer with a worried look in her eyes.
'' She's got some bad whip- marks on her back from the beating,'' Gyro said in a low voice as Primer bent forward to put a trembling hand on the side of Charley's neck,'' ...''
Primer visibly winced as she was reminded of the horrors she'd witnessed back in the Main Chamber.
''... but the bleedings stopped.'' Gyro continued.'' It looks bad but I've made sure that the wounds won't become infected.''
He turned to stare at Primer who met his ruby-red eyes evenly. There was silence for several minutes as they just stared at each other. Then...
''You know that the sand blasted Raider ran his mouth about the history of what happened centuries ago between the Martians, rats and Raiders, don't you?! '' he continued with a small grimace at the word '' rat''.
Unlike the Martians that would definitely brand him as half-rat, he saw himself as not quite either of the two species.
'' The rats and Raiders have no antennas which they can use to teach their children, or childrens children history the way your species can. The people who lived during that plantacious era are long gone, but their memories, hopes, pain and despair were safely locked in the memories projected to their children and those that came after. ''
Primer uttered a long, suffering sigh at the hybrid's words. As usual, trust Gyro to use a cryptic message to voice his thoughts. The message was all too clear, though. She's heard him speak like that too often to count, and she was definitely not a simplist.
'' You want me to mind-walk with her.'' Primer concluded in a quiet voice, clenching her hands into fists.
'' Once she wakes up, she will ask about the obsessive hate that exists between the three of the dominant races of our planet.'' Gyro said in his gravely voice.''I'm sure of it. I know enough about humans that their a rather curious, but wary species when it comes to learning that there is life on other planets.''
Primer stared down at Charley who's chest was rising and falling as she breathed in and out slowly, her face relaxed and mercifully pain free.
'' She won't be waking up for a while yet,'' Gyro continued, '' and I know you are as curious as I am to find out how she will react to knowing about the true history of Mars's inhabitants. Besides...''
Gyro's voice turned a little softer. '' It would do you both good to get this matter of ''not knowing'' settled as soon as possible just in case it starts to crate on your new sisterly bonds.''
Primer's hands relaxed slightly as she took in deep, even breaths. Her wine-red eyes were clouded as she thought over what Gyro was asking of her; he probably wanted Charlene to continue to trust her. And to perhaps... trust him, too.
Gyro stepped forward and hesitantly lowered a large hand on the other's thin shoulder; he could feel the younger mouse begin to slowly relax at his touch.
'' You can do it, girl.'' he said encouragingly.'' You are a very talented mind-walker; you showed that with me. It will not harm her, but help her understand.''
Squeezing Primer's shoulder one last time and thoughtfully glancing down at the beaten up human lying beside his '' little-sister'', the half-mouse walked out of the small cell, closing the door behind him and locking it up with a key.
The light-grey furred female stared after him for a moment longer, but turned her attention back to the unconcious Charlene once Gyro had disappeared completely into the fork of the hall leading out of the dungeons.
Swallowing nervously, Primer closed her eyes and concentrated. She breathed in and out for a short minute, allowing her body to became relaxed and unwound.
A soft glow immediately began to radiate from her vibrant red antennas as she began slipping into the mind-walk. Her hands searched the human lying unconcious on the floor of the cell. Finding her, Primer very gently lifted Charley's upper body in her lap and leaned forward to bring their foreheads together.
She probed gently, finding a very weak resistance when she touched the human's concience. She pushed against the resistance, reassuring the other that she was safe; that it was a friend touching her mind.
'' Hey, Charley.'' Primer said softly when she felt the resistance weaken and then wane altogether.
Her own ghostly figure was suddenly surrounded at all sides by swirling whiteness that seemed constantly moving; like the wind in a desert.
'' Primer, that you?'' Charlene's voice sounded around her; the voice holding some confusion.'' Wh-why are you... in my head?''
Primer felt no urge to laugh at her ''sister's'' question, even though the human's description had been fairly accurate. She really was inside Charlene's head; well, her own concience that is.
'' Its just my mind taking a walk with your's, ''sister''.'' Primer explained.
'' Yeah, but why?'' Charlene asked curiously.
Primer smiled when she saw the swirling white mists begin to slowly take shape into the person she knew; although the person was noticeably naked like a newborn baby. The mist was still surrounding Charlene and sticking onto her pearl-white figure. It made her look apart of the whiteness itself.
The human walked towards Primer's ghostly figure which, unlike Charley's, stayed apart from the mists like the intruder she was. An intruder with good intentions but an intruder nonetheless.
The human's steps were measuring and tentative. A wondering expression stuck on her lovely face.
Primer stayed where she was, floating amongst the swirling mist with an understanding smile on her face. She could well understand the other's wondering expression. Not all Martians could show themselves as a ghostly figure in someone else's concience, afterall.
'' I needed to explain you something.'' she said softly as soon as Charley stopped just outside her reach.'' Will you let me in?''
Charley nodded her head, looking completely relaxed as she kept her eyes locked with Primer's ghostly figure.
Primer reached out with her hands and layed them down on top the human's shoulders. She could feel Charley shifting slightly as she leaned their foreheads together and touched the tips of her antennae to her temples.
She pulled away almost immediately, drawing a guestioning, confused look from the human who hadn't expected to have it over so quickly.
Smiling vanly, Primer gently took hold of Charley's chin and lifted it so that she wasn't staring at her, but at the mist surrounding her.
A loud gasp escaped the human's lips as she glanced around at the mist that was no longer mist but something that reminded her of a black canvas with images beginning to slowly appear; blurry at first but quickly becoming more clear.
'' You were the key, Charley.'' Primer said softly as she watched the human's awed expression flitting every which way.'' I just needed to touch you again and project the images into you for this to happen.''
'' And what exactly do you want me to see, besides this.'' Charley asked in a hushed tone of voice as the image of Mars during what looked like its most glorious, plantacious time began to appear around her. There were so many beautiful flowers and bright colored plants and even small trees and bushes. And there was water! Actual lakes and ponds!
Tears blurred the mechanic's vision as she realized this was Mars in its former glory. Maybe even hundreds of years before her time when no human had built machines sophisticated enough to capture this amazing beauty. She wanted to touch all those lovely plants she saw growing on the surface of the Red Planet, and it saddened her greatly that it wasn't possible.
'' Our history,'' Primer said as she came to stand right beside Charley,'' the way it was shown to us years ago by our elders.''
END of Chapter 8
