Hey you guys...
Thanks again for the reviews!
Not much to tell, so here's the next chapter!
I hope you enjoy it. ^^

Feel free to leave a review, always makes my day.
Till next time, dudes!

Later!

Chapter 6

The real monsters aren't under the bed…
Or are they?

Before Throttle had a chance to react on this dark yet friendly welcome, the truck slowly came to a halt.
Charley jumped out without saying another word and walked over to a man who was standing a few meters away, which gave Throttle the time to talk to his bro's without anyone listening. He kneeled down in front of them and laid a hand on Vinnie's knee to get his attention.
The young mouse opened his ruby red eyes and Modo also looked at his bro and leader.
"Guys, I've no idea what the hell is going on here, but for now, we keep our head down and play along", he whispered.
"Earth? We really are on Earth?", Vinnie asked, now squinting because of pain and blood loss.
"Apparently, we are."
"Wow, that is so… cool…", the white-furred mouse sighed with a small smile.
"Ya think we can trust them?", Modo asked softly.
"I trust her. As for the rest, I'm not sure yet. But right now, we need them, so we're just gonna stick together and keep our eyes and ears open, okay?"
"Got it."
"Copy that, fearless leader", Vinnie mumbled, but he was having a hard time to keep his eyes open.
"Although I ain't so sure about the whole 'keep your eyes open' part…"
"What in the…", an unknown voice broke up their little gathering and they all three now looked at the man who was talking with Charley just seconds ago.
He now leaned against the boot lid of the pickup truck, his brown eyes studying the three mice.
Again, Throttle noticed it wasn't shock or surprise that was written on the male's face, but curiosity.
Perhaps even fascination.
"First fish, now mice… What's next? Turtles?", the man spoke with awe as he still watched them closely.
It took the tan furred mouse a while to process the words since exhaustion made him less sharp than usual.
But then, the words dawned on him and his whole body convulsed as if he got struck by lightning.
While his body even suffered from a few aftershocks, he already dropped on his knees and grabbed the boot lid with both hands.
Looking straight into the friendly eyes of the man, he leaned forward until their noses almost touched.
"What did you just say?"
The male did a step backward, probably taken back by the intense, almost hostile tone in Throttle's voice, but the tan furred mouse wasn't interested in making friends right now.
Not since a rare feeling of sheer panic had taken over his body and mind.
"Yeah, man, I mean, turtles? Come on, how is that even cool?", Vinnie mumbled, his eyes already closed again, clearly, he didn't catch on yet.
It wasn't that much of a surprise since he was a mouse known for being a selective listener.
One could almost call it a talent how the young mouse was able to filter out the words that might bust his ego or his manhood for that matter, the rest already forgotten.
The human male now relaxed a little, probably thinking that he'd unintentionally offended the mice by mentioning them in the same sentence as turtles.
He scratched the back of his neck as he smiled a little sheepishly.
"Oh, that was just…", but Throttle grabbed the man by his shirt and pulled him closer to the truck.
After all, turtles weren't the reason why he was reacting this way.
He couldn't care less about the turtles.
"Fish. You said fish. Why?"
There was now a hint of fear visible in the man his brown eyes and he tried to free himself, but the tan furred mouse was too strong.
The panic that the leader was feeling grew even bigger as far as that was possible and he shook the human male in a feeble attempt to make him talk.
"Answer me!"
But before the man could, an all too familiar clicking sound was heard closeby his head and shortly thereafter, Throttle felt something cold pressing against his temple.
"Let him go or I'll kill you where you stand, mouse", Max growled in his right ear.
Throttle squeezed his fingers even tighter around the man's shirt and clenched his teeth, but then reality kicked in and he was suddenly painfully aware of his surroundings again.
He felt movement behind him and he knew it was Modo who was about to help him.
The panic, that was close to being overwhelming, now slowly faded till it was nothing more but a nagging sensation in his stomach and he quickly let go of the man as if he just caught on fire.
"It's okay, big fella", he then said softly as he raised his hands in the air, knowing the situation would escalate if his bro interfered.
The man was obviously happy that the tan furred mouse had let him go and quickly created some distance between them as he adjusted his shirt, coughing softly.
Throttle looked at Max from the corner of his eyes, straight into the fuming eyes of the aggressive human who still didn't lower his gun.
So he flexed his muscles, prepared himself for a fight, but then...
"Max."
Charley popped up out of nowhere and laid a hand on Max his arm, who gritted his teeth in response.
But then, he slowly lowered his gun with a shaking hand and Throttle relaxed a little.
Until his eyes locked with hers, that is.
The glance of disappointment cut through his soul quite unexpectedly and the tan furred mouse felt a pang of guilt which was soon followed by shame.
Shame because he'd allowed his emotions to take over like that.
Shame because he was supposed to know better.
Shame because he was a leader where people could rely on and losing control like that just wasn't part of the deal.
This had just been a very long day and… no.
There was no excuse.
He looked at the man, who was looking back at him suspiciously.
"I uh… I'm sorry, I don't know what has gotten into me all of a sudden, I guess… I guess I'm just a little hot under the helmet after this very stressful day…"
Desperately searching for a way to set things straight, he suddenly remembered how Charley had introduced herself and so he reached out his hand as a peace offer.
After a small hesitation, the man with the friendly eyes took it and gave him a firm handshake.
"Apologies accepted."
Charley walked closer to the truck and looked at Throttle.
"Look, I know you have about a thousand questions or so, and let me tell you that I have too. But it's late and your friend needs help. So first things first…"
She pointed at the man who Throttle had assaulted just now and her lips curled into a small smile.
"This is the doctor…"
Throttle felt his cheeks burn when he heard her say these words, now, as far as that goes, even more ashamed.
Typical.
He rarely loses control, but the one time he does, he takes it out on the one man who is able to help his youngest bro in these desperate times.
Just… typical.

The man raised his hand as a greeting, already calm again.
Vinnie tapped with two fingers against his head to greet him back, a hint of his trademark smile on his face.
"Wassup, doc?"
"Please, call me Ben", the man responded with a heavy, but soothing voice.
"Wassup, Ben?"
"Ben here is gonna check all three of you over and threat your wounds", Charley continued as she laid a hand on Ben's shoulder, still with a slightly amused look on her face and Throttle couldn't stop himself from getting the feeling that she was making fun of him.
He couldn't really blame her, though.
It was a stupid move, even he couldn't deny that.
But then she grew serious again, that small frown between her brows already back again.
"I know this day has been rough on you guys, so what you need right now is a good night sleep. And tomorrow… Tomorrow is a new day with new stories. Tomorrow, we'll talk, that I promise."
Throttle nodded, knowing that she was right.
Although he was feeling more than curious about what was going on on this strange planet, he agreed now wasn't the time.
They could all use some rest.
"Sounds fair enough to me."
"Okay, then I'll leave you in Ben's capable hands, he'll take good care of your friend. I'll see you tomorrow."
Charley gave him one last nod, still with that amusing glance in these marvelous green eyes, and walked away.
Max followed her and suddenly grabbed her by the arm to stop her.
Throttle noticed it wasn't really friendly and he narrowed his eyes behind his glasses.
What was their story?
After hissing at each other for a few seconds, Charley yanked herself free and walked back towards the truck.
"One more thing… I need you to hand over your weapons", she said toneless, the glance in her eyes now replaced with… nothing.
It was this sight that concerned Throttle more than the words that came out of her mouth, he hardly even heard her.
But his bro's, and especially the youngest, didn't share this particular concern.
"Say what?", Vinnie exclaimed as he flew upright.
Of course, this strange demand was enough for the white-furred mouse to snap back to reality, no matter his current physical condition.
No one was allowed to touch his weapons without his permission, let alone take them from him.
That was like taking away his clothes, although he probably would've cared less about giving away his clothes.
That was only giving him another opportunity to show off with his, as he liked to call it, perfect body.
But beware for those who wanted to take away his beloved weapons.
His babies.
"Not a chance, ma'am", Modo for once agreed with his younger bro.
But Charley didn't budge, Throttle could tell and now, her words dawned on him too.
She was asking them, no, ordering them to hand over their weapons.
That was bad.
Next to unexpected.
Perhaps even funny.
"I'm sorry, but it's one of the ground rules. Only the teams and guards are allowed to be armed and since you ain't either of them…", she indeed stood her ground.
A chuckle escaped the tan furred mouse his lips, as if she was telling them a bad joke instead of insisting to hand over their only insurance for personal safety.
It was the same thing, though.
A bad joke.
For a moment, the tables were turned.
Now it was him who was amused by her.
Highly amused.
"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to agree with my two bro's on this one. The only thing that I can hand over to you is my word that we won't use our weapons as long as we're here."
"Your word is worth nothing without trust, and trust needs to be earned. Besides, if you won't use them, there's no need to carry them with you, or is there?"
Despite the situation, Throttle was still amused by her.
The longer he was in her company, the more he started to understand why she was their leader.
She sure wasn't afraid to speak her mind.
But he couldn't stop himself from wondering what Max his role was.
"And if we refuse?", Modo asked tiredly. It was clearly hearable in his voice that he didn't like where this was going.
"Then I have no other choice but to show you the door. As long as you guys are in this camp, my camp, walking among my people, you've got to obey the rules, just like everyone else."
Her words unlocked the dam inside Throttle that was surrounding his emotions and it was despair that immediately popped up by only thinking about them being forced to leave this camp.
They had nowhere to go on this strange and unfamiliar planet, their bikes damaged and Vinnie…
The white-furred mouse would die if he didn't get help soon.
By that thought alone his heart made a few backflips in his chest.
He couldn't let his younger bro die, certainly not because of ego and stubbornness.
Or even worse; unhealthy paranoia.
He would never forgive himself.
Hearing the deep and heavy sigh next to him, Throttle knew Modo had come to the same conclusion.
Their hands were tied.
So, he took a deep breath and braced himself because he knew that at least one them wasn't gonna be amused by this decision.
"Okay."
Vinnie, who was already trying to get up again, probably because he'd rather leave the camp than to turn over his beloved weapons, now froze when he heard Throttle say that one and simple word.
Just like the tan furred mouse had predicted, he was not amused.
Modo wasn't either, but he was at least wise enough to know that protesting was useless.
Vinnie, on the other hand, wasn't.
"Okay?", the white-furred mouse asked with a voice high of disbelief as he looked at Throttle, his eyes wide open in shock.
But then, he narrowed them and his long tail lashed through the air.
"What do ya mean, okay?! Are you crazy? Did you hit your head during the crash or something? Turning our weapons over to people we don't know is not okay! Far from it!"
Throttle remained calm, like he always did when Vinnie was having one of his temper tantrums.
To start a discussion was counterproductive, that he knew.
So, he pointed at Vinnie's wounded leg in order to instill the gravity of the situation.
"Look at this from my point of view, Vincent. You need help, whether you like it or not, and if we don't do as she asks, you'll die. It really is that plain and simple, so tell me, how is that even a choice, huh?"
Vinnie put a finger in the air and opened his mouth, all ready to make a point, but then realized he had none.
Throttle was, as usual, right.
"Ah man…", he breathed and his hand dropped next to his body.
With that, his energy drained away too.
This short but heavy revival had used the last drops of adrenaline and his body now pulled on the emergency brake.
It was done, it had enough and it was time that the soul was gonna cooperate.
Throttle saw how his youngest bro paled under his fur and another alarm bell went off.
Enough with the lingering.
His bro needed help and he needed it now.
Like, right now.
So, Throttle turned around to face Charley again.
"Let's get this over with."

...

Half an hour later…

"You think you can help him?", Throttle asked worriedly as he looked over Ben's shoulder to make sure he could follow every move the doctor made.
The tan furred mouse was still having a hard time with trusting these people, although they hadn't given him any reason not to, Max excluded, that is.
Too many times he'd been betrayed, even by his own people.
As he previously noted, the war back on Mars had made him more paranoid than he liked to admit.
But he trusted Charley.
He wasn't sure why, but he just did.
Without a doubt.
So, did that not mean that this man could also be trusted?
Another thing he wasn't sure of.
Yet.
Like Charley said; trust needed to be earned and this man at least deserved a chance to do so.
"I think I can", the doctor answered calmly, by the looks of things not even being slightly impressed by the tan furred mouse who was breathing down his neck.
Throttle felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up, straight into the friendly face of his other bro.
"Perhaps we need to give the doc some room to do his job", Modo suggested, but without any form of judgment. The grey-furred giant was familiar with the almost endless sense of responsibility that his friend and leader felt, and although he didn't say it out loud, he felt the same distrust towards these weird creatures.
But then again, what choice did they have?
None.
Therefore, they allowed this man called Ben to touch their youngest bro in the hope that there were still people in this wild and wooly universe who could be trusted, who meant no harm to them or anyone.
Sometimes, one could only hope.
Hope and pray.
Throttle did a step back, but his body was still painfully uptight, ready to jump into action if necessary.
Ben ceased his activities for a moment and looked over his shoulder, probably feeling Throttle's distress.
"Why don't you take a seat?", he suggested friendly as he gestured to the chair across the table where Vinnie was lying on.
"I can only imagine how tired you must be and from there you'll have a good view of what I'm doing."
Throttle's first impulse was to refuse, because he already had a pretty good view from where he was standing, but Ben's words were like a seed that got planted in his head and he suddenly felt, indeed, how tired he was.
So, although with reluctance, he slowly walked around the table and sank down in the chair to where the human male had pointed at.
He closed his eyes for a moment because of the pain in his muscles which now did a feeble attempt to relax.
It was hard to believe it was only yesterday that he was studying the map to find the perfect way to take down the enemy, back on the base.
War strategies...
It was only yesterday when that awful siren went off, the siren that had changed their lives forever, although he didn't know it at that moment.
He'd felt it, though.
From the moment that siren went off, a darkness had nestled in his usual light heart.
And look how right that feeling was.
Here they were.
Earth.
What a mess.
What an awful mess.

Modo took place next to him and they now both looked at Vinnie, who was lying on the table.
The white-furred mouse had lost consciousness moments after the whole weapon debacle, a thing Throttle had foreseen from miles away.
It was him who had searched the moveless, but thankfully still alive body for weapons to hand over, which were a lot.
Max had needed another bag to carry it all with him to wherever he was gonna store the armaments.
And oh boy, he hadn't been amused.
Therefore, Throttle was.
He didn't like Max.
It was also him who had skipped the small handgun from which he knew the young mouse carried in an ankle holster for backup.
The holster was tied around his left ankle, the leg that wasn't wounded, and thoroughly hidden under his pants.
A mouse couldn't be careful enough these days.
The tan furred mouse felt actually bad for keeping this from Charley, for he trusted her, but his instinct had told him to do this.
And he always listened to his instinct.
No exceptions.
"That looks painful", Ben broke him out of his thoughts and Throttle looked up a little surprised, since he was feeling no pain at all.
He saw the doc pointing at his arm and his gaze lowered before landing on the bite wound that was made by the Sand Raider right before the whole pack had almost squashed him like he was nothing more but a little Martian Fly Flea.
Again, all that seemed like forever ago.
"It's just a bite mark", he answered absent-mindedly, realizing he suddenly started to sound a lot like Vinnie.
But the reality was that it was nothing he couldn't handle, after all; the wound would be gone within twenty-five hours.
It probably would leave a scar though, but it sure wasn't the first.
Besides… a scar wasn't deathly.
"Well, then at least let me clean that after I'm done with your friend", Ben offered before he focussed his attention back on Vinnie's leg.
Throttle didn't respond, all he wanted now was that the doc helped his bro, since Vinnie needed it more than he did.
Sure, he was tired.
Sure, he had some small wounds but it was nothing that a good night sleep couldn't fix.
The same applied for Modo, who was using this time to take a good look around as he fiddled with the rope that was tied around his bionic arm to prevent the cannon from popping out.
It was nothing more but pro forma since he was strong enough to break the rope by using only two fingers, but Throttle had told him to play along for now and so he did.
He had even reached out his arm to make it easier for Max to tie the rope.
The look on the human male's face had almost made him slip, that eager he had been to powder off that smugly smile, but he had managed to control himself.
Max was now ringleader on the 'people he didn't like' list.
Calling him a rat had earned him this special place, and special it was.
The list wasn't long and with his soft and friendly personality, it was truly a miracle to say at least that the guy already took lead after only speaking a few words.
Modo shook off the unpleasant feeling that Max gave him and focussed on his surroundings.
They were sitting in a small tent which was made of a soft, green fabric Modo didn't recognize, the image of a red cross printed on both sides.
It was bigger on the inside than he'd thought in the first place.
Warmer too, although the nights on Earth were far less cold than the ones he had spend on Mars.
Shortly after walking inside the tent, it became clear to him that this was the infirmary of the camp they were in, but it was far smaller than he was used to.
A lot of the equipment that was standing in the tent he hadn't seen before, but it was clean.
One didn't need to be a doctor to know that was the most important.
Right after Modo had laid the young white-furred mouse on the table that was standing in the right corner of the tent, the doc had closed a few curtains and thereby created a separated space.
With the only light coming from the big lamp on a stand that was aiming its light beam on Vinnie's leg, it almost felt cozy.
As if they were sitting around a campfire or something.
Suddenly and without any warning, a shiver ran through his body.
It was one of the for Modo all too familiar signs that he was being more than tired.
Apparently, the doc noticed it and looked at both of them.
"It's gonna take some time to fix this mess", he said as he gestured to Vinnie's leg.
"Perhaps you two want to grab some sleep in the meantime?"
"No", the two mice said in unison right after the last word had left Ben's mouth.
The human male looked up a little surprised by hearing the intense tone they both had used.
Throttle saw it and gave the man a small smile.
"Look, doc, it's nothing personal, but we… well, we're close. We always stick together. And I'm not gonna be able to sleep until I know that he's gonna be okay."
"Same here", Modo agreed with him.
Ben nodded as he gave them another friendly smile.
"You're our guests, not prisoners. You're free to do as you please, of course."

"So, what's the damage?", Throttle asked to change the subject as he pointed at the nasty looking wound in his youngest bro right leg.
The doc had shaved away the hairs around the wound edges and cleaned it, but it still looked awful.
That probably was because of the bone that poked out again.
It just wasn't natural.
"Well, the shinbone snapped like a twig and cut through flesh, blood vessels, muscles, skin and uh… fur. The broken bone also ruptured a big artery, causing the massive hemorrhage. I've already managed to stop the bleeding by tying off the artery, and now... "
But Ben suddenly trailed off as he took a closer look at the wound.
"That's weird…"
Throttle's heart made a little jump, once again.
In a way, he felt lucky that he hadn't had a heart attack already.
"What? What is it?", he asked as he leaned forward, not able to cover up the sharp edge made by panic in his usual husky and calm voice.
"It's like the wound is already healing…"
Relief rushed through his veins when he heard these words and Throttle leaned back as he let out his breath.
"Oh. But that's normal. Right?", he added when the doc didn't answer.
Ben looked at him with a confused look on his face, his eyes narrowed.
"Not here it isn't. Human beings don't recover this quickly…"
Modo rubbed his chin, intrigued by this statement.
"How long would it take for a… human to recover from this kinda injury?", he then asked, still getting used to the word human.
Ben looked at the wound again and then shrugged.
"I would say at least six to eight weeks, if the patient takes enough rest."
Throttle whistled between his teeth in wonder and Modo almost fell off his chair.
"That long? A Martian Cave Mouse only needs two or three days, tops. Oh, momma, can you imagine the kind of trouble we would go through if we had to pin Vinnie down for eight weeks?", the grey furred giant chuckled.
"That would be the end of Earth, that's for sure", Throttle agreed with a smile, knowing that forcing the hyper adrenaline junkie into bed rest for eight weeks was more like mission impossible.
Ben was still staring at them.
"Two or three days? How on Earth is that even possible?"
"Apparently, it isn't. On Mars, however, it is", the tan furred mouse shrugged, not impressed by this fact at all.
He was more surprised to hear that a human needed like, forever to recover from an injury like this one.
It was a good thing they weren't at war.
Weren't they?
Rubbing his temples, he decided to ignore this… whisper in the wind.
For now.
The human doctor looked down at Vinnie's wound again.
"I better hurry then… ", and he continued his work.
"How long is a day here on Earth?", Throttle now asked, curious about the time management on this weird planet and eager to distract his troubled mind.
"Twenty-four hours. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I once read somewhere that Mars in a way resembles with Earth, but if I remember it right, a day is a bit longer there, isn't it?"
Somehow impressed that this creature apparently had taken the time to learn things about other planets, Throttle nodded.
"I don't know about the resembling part since I know Earth only by name, but you're right about the other part. A day on Mars, or like we used to call it; a sol is approx twenty-five hours long."
"And you too use weeks, months and years to indicate the time?", Ben asked as he pushed the broken bone back in the right place.
It caused a weird sucking sound which made Throttle sick to the stomach and he quickly focussed his attention back on the conversation.
"Yeah, we do. A week is twelve days, a month is five weeks and a year is twenty-four months", Modo answered.
"Interesting. Here on Earth, it's a bit differently. A week is seven days, a month is approx four weeks and a year is twelve months."
"Oh, so when you say eight weeks, you mean… fifty-six days?", the tan furred mouse asked surprised.
Ben nodded in answer.
"But in your case, that would be... "
"Ninety-six days", Throttle calculated for him, worried that the doc otherwise might be too distracted from fixing Vinnie's leg.
But by the looks of things, the man seemed perfectly capable of doing two things at the same time.
"This is most intriguing", the doc smiled as he started to stitch the wound.
Silence dawned on them and after a few minutes, Throttle needed to fight to keep his eyes open, which wasn't easy.
This had been a very long day, Martian or Earthly and his body was done.
But he needed to stay awake, at least until the doc was done with patching up his youngest bro.
The waiting gave him time to think and he suddenly remembered the word that Ben had used when he saw them for the first time.
Perhaps he could take another shot to get some answers, although this time he preferred to ask questions without going completely loco.
His cheeks burned by only thinking back at that short moment of losing his self-control.
No more.
"You said something earlier this night that caught my undivided attention…", he started with caution, not sure how the human was gonna react.
Ben hands froze for a moment, but then he continued his stitching work.
If Throttle wasn't watching him closely, he probably would've missed it.
But he didn't and again, that bad feeling he'd felt earlier this night tied his stomach in a knot.
His instinct kept telling him that he needed to keep his guard up, but he had no idea why, since the few people he had met here in this camp seemed to be sincere and no threat at all.
Again, Max excluded.
Although they obviously didn't like it when he started to ask questions about their current situation and that only made him even more curious.
By the looks of things, Ben wasn't gonna respond and Throttle felt Modo shift his weight in the chair next to him, which told him that his bro wasn't at ease either.
After looking at Vinnie again, who was still out like a light thanks to the sedative Ben had given him just in case, the tan furred mouse leaned forward to get Ben's attention.
"Ben… It's okay if I call you Ben, right?"
The doc nodded, but still said nothing, his eyes fixated on his work.
"Ben, this is important for many reasons… Can you please explain to me why you used the word fish?"
The human stopped his work so he could look up.
Throttle mentioned the pain that was now visible in his brown eyes and it made him even more determined to peel out some information.
There was indeed something wrong here and he could only hope that the word fish had another meaning on this strange planet, although he had the nagging feeling it wasn't the case here.
Ben wiped off his forehead with the back of his hand, the needle holder still between his fingers.
"I'm not sure why it is that you're so interested in me using that word…", he mumbled uneasily.
"That's funny, because I'm not sure why you're being so evasive...Ben", Throttle retorted sharply, but still calm.
The human doc sighed heavily and laid down his tools.
"Look, I know that you have a lot of questions, I would've too if I was you. But I've got strict orders to patch you guys up and to give you food and water before I show you your beds. Like Charley said; tomorrow she'll give you the answers you're so desperately searching for."
"Why?", Modo now opened his mouth and Ben gave him a confused look, like he forgot that the grey-furred giant was still sitting across him.
"Why is she so persistent to wait till tomorrow?", Modo asked patiently.
"Because she's too caring for her own good…", Ben answered absent-mindedly.
Then, he looked Throttle straight in his behind glasses hidden eyes and the tan furred mouse knew they'd lost another round.
He could see it in the man's eyes.
Loyalty.
"All I can tell you that this...-", and Ben gestured around him. "-... this is not how life on Earth is. Or, at least, not how it's supposed to be. Now please stop asking questions, I'm loyal to Charley and she has told me that now isn't the place nor the time to tell stories. It's late and time to rest. After I've finished this, that is."
His friendliness was gone now and the fire in his eyes told Throttle that one should not mess with this man.
This friendly, but loyal man.
He looked harmless at first sight, but clearly, he wasn't.
Not when it came to Charley.
So, the tan furred mouse decided to let it go for now.
Not because he was scared that he couldn't handle the human, no, he just didn't wanna pick a fight with the man who helped them.
More to the point; who helped his youngest bro.
Besides, the man seemed to be sincere, a quality which Throttle could only appreciate.
"Okay, fine. Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow", Ben confirmed.
Throttle leaned back in his chair as he crossed his legs by the ankle.
Luckily, days on Earth were shorter than on Mars.
That meant the nights were too.
So, it wouldn't take long before he finally would get himself some answers.
In his sake.
And his bro's sake.

Ben continued his work in total silence now and it didn't take long before both Modo and Throttle were nodding off, suddenly caught between being awake and sleep.
But finally…
"Voila! All done", Ben broke the silence and the two mice flew upright, both startled by this sudden exclamation.
Throttle took off his glasses and rubbed his stinging eyes before putting it back.
He then looked at Vinnie's leg and saw that the wound was now neatly closed as if nothing ever happened.
Well, apart from the blood that was still stuck in his usual snow-white fur, that is.
"Some fine needlework you've got there, doc", he mumbled impressed,
"Thanks", Ben answered as he wiped off his hands with a towel.
"He's gonna be okay, certainly with his body healing that fast. Therefore, I don't see the need to apply a cast. And given the color of his mucosa, he has already enough blood back in his system which makes a blood transfusion unnecessary. Truly remarkable."
He suppressed a yawn and then rose on his feet to pull back the curtains.
"You can sleep here tonight", he said, gesturing to the three empty beds that were standing on the left side of the tent.
Throttle looked at it and then shared a look with Modo.
They both suddenly felt the weird urge to cry by only seeing the soft-looking beds, their bodies yearning for some rest after this long, exhausting and deep dark day.
"Can I get you guys anything? Something to eat?"
The friendliness was back now and Throttle felt relieved. He started to like this man and he would hate it if he somehow had managed to offend him.
That wasn't his intention, after all.
All he ever wanted was to protect his bro's, just like he promised.
The tan furred mouse slowly got up, his whole body protesting in pain.
"Just water for me now… I'm too tired to eat…"
"Same for me", Modo answered, who was already lying Vinnie in the middle bed.
Ben walked towards a big white box and opened it.
Throttle could see the box was filled with bottles of water and his eyes almost popped out of its sockets.
Water was a rare thing on Mars and to see it just lying there in abundance was a shock to say at least.
Ben didn't notice his reaction and grabbed three bottles before he closed the box again.
He then gave one to Throttle, one to Modo and put the third bottle on the nightstand next to Vinnie's bed.
When Throttle took the bottle from him, there was another surprise.
It was cold.
Perhaps water was rare on Mars, but cold water… that didn't even exist.
He looked at Modo, who was still staring at the bottle in his flesh hand, an action which told Throttle he wasn't the only one being this surprised.
He then focused his attention back on the bottle and after struggling with the cap for a while, he finally managed to open it.
Goosebumps spread across his body when the cold water streamed into his mouth and then flowed down his esophagus.
This was exactly what he needed ever since that moment he was standing in the Martian desert and had spotted the spaceships.
That awful moment, when he was forced to choose between Mars and freedom.
He had chosen freedom.
He could only hope that he had chosen wisely.
Time would tell.
The cold water washed away his anxiety, his worries and his fears and finally, his body completely relaxed.
He now felt safe enough to give in or perhaps his body really was done for today.
Either way, before he could drink the rest of the water, the bottle slipped between his fingers and landed on the floor with a loud thump.
But Throttle hardly noticed as he dropped on the bed on his belly and even before his head touched the soft pillow, he was already subsided into a deep and hopefully nightmare less sleep.

The day is done...
All is well, safely rest your head...
It's time to sleep...
And dream of what's in store...
The body bends until it breaks...
And sings again no more...
Don't be afraid that you're not alone…
Because the monsters under the bed are asleep now too...