Biker Mice from Mars - Mountain Drift

Chapter 7: Skylark

Modo got to the edge of the swamp he had been lost in for the past couple of days, dragging his bike and himself up to the edge of a dirt road. He was so tired. Completely exhausted. He had lost track of how long he had been in that bayou, but he was finally out. He remembered crashing down, his part of the ship starting to sink. He had barely gotten out in time before it was enveloped in the muck. Then, his motorcycle wouldn't start. But he wouldn't abandon it. It was all he had left now.

Modo collapsed on the side of the dirt road. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink in days and had been bitten by too many things to keep count of. Was this it? He thought as consciousness started to leave him. Was he going to die here?

#

Jaiden Skylark was out camping. This was one of the few times he was able to go that he was able to enjoy himself. Now it was back to the city. As he drove his pickup through the nature park he had to go through, he wondered about some things. Like that big flare of light, he saw the other night, after the meteor shower...

He then saw a body on the road. It clearly wasn't human. Jaiden stopped immediately. He saw it was a human-sized, anthropomorphic mouse, in biker clothes! With a robotic arm! And Antennas! And it was in bad shape!

Jaiden got out. He wondered for a bit, questions racing through his mind. Was this some sort of a joke?

The mouse let out a groan of pain. That's when Jaiden saw it. It had a poorly dressed wound on its arm. This was no joke! Jaiden got a med kit out of his truck, along with a bottle of water, and cautiously approached.

"Um... Hello?" He said. The mouse opened the only eye visible on its head. The other was covered by a patch.

"Who's... there?" The mouse asked, trying to stand. But it was too weak to even sit up, collapsing again.

Jaiden was scared. The mouse looked easily twice his size. What was this thing? Should he call the cops? He wondered. Then he ruled out that question, knowing what would happen if he did: they'd think he was a nut. He finally mustered up the courage to walk forward and knelt at the mouse's side. He couldn't tell how badly the mouse was hurt, but he must have been out around here for at least several days.

"Relax. I won't hurt you." Jaiden said. He opened the water bottle, propped the mouse's head up, and let the mouse drink, as it downed the entire bottle of water. He then got out some bandages and antiseptic out of the med kit and began treating the arm wound. The mouse let out a hiss, no doubt feeling the sting of the antiseptic as it's face twisted into a look of pain but remained still. Jaiden then re-dressed the bandage.

"...Who are you?" The mouse asked, still weak, looking at Jaiden.

"First, my name is Jaiden Skylark." He said. "Second, I'm the one who should be asking that question, among many other things..."

"My name's Modo..." Modo answered, still feeling weak. "You haven't seen anyone else around like me, have you?" Modo asked.

"No, I haven- Wait a minute! You mean there's more of you?!" Jaiden asked now uneasy.

"Just me and my two bros..." Modo answered. "We were here to help. I'll explain later when we're on the road if you don't mind..."

Jaiden nodded. He knew that Modo would need some time to recover. He helped Modo into his pickup and loaded the Motorcycle he was lying next to in the back, tying it down with some cargo belts he had. Then he got in, and they were off.

Meanwhile in Boise...

"Manuel, you sure you are okay?" Takumi said as they walked out of a restaurant, Pizza by the Slice.

"Yeah, Manuel. You seem stressed over something." Iketani noted.

"No kidding!" Itsuki added with clear irritation. "Besides that, you've asked us some rather strange questions since we got here, usually about outer space. And you won't tell us why..."

Manuel then sighed. "It's complicated..."

This raised some eyebrows. "Manuel, you're not doing anything bad, are you? Like Drugs or Alcohol?" Iketani asked.

Manuel gave Iketani an irritated look. "It's nothing like that!" He snapped with a facepalm.

"Then what is it?" Takumi asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look, you can tell us, you don't have to be afraid of us judging you. We all agreed on that when we met, right?"

Manuel sighed. He guessed he'd better just fess up now. "Guys, I need to introduce you to someone I've met. But you must swear not to tell anyone about it. Get in the car and follow me."