Shelter from the Storm

By TerraBM

Dedicated to: Morning

(Disclaimer: I don’t own the Biker Mice from Mars. I write this story for enjoyment. Rex belongs to Decembergirl.)

Rex ran through the rain drenched streets of Mars, blood running from a long jagged cut in his arm. The rain was cold and harsh and it beat against his face and numbed it with its cold as hot salty tear stung his eyes. He staggered into an old alleyway, falling to his knees and scraping them on the coarse pavement, and crawled into a corner, sitting up against the brick wall and pulling his knees up to his chest and laying his head on them, his golden tan hair falling down around him as he sobbed quietly.

It had all finally caught up to him. The gang wars of Briar Rose, The Plutarkian Wars of the desolate plains of Mars, his own personal conflicts at home with his new family at the Freedom Fighter base…he couldn’t take all the fighting anymore, all the killing, all the violence. He had to be so full of hate…he didn’t want to be. This from a child born into violence raised by the bitter streets. It wasn’t an unusual reaction, but for Rex it was. He had tried very hard, ever since he was young, to make himself hard. Not to feel anything. To be cold and emotionless. The streets were not kind to the big-hearted and soft- fleshed…in fact those were usually its first victims. Rex had lived too hard and too long not to know that.

But now suddenly, all the hurt, and all the pain that had welled up inside him for years, it all seem to burst to the surface, and all over a stupid argument…

Rex looked up slowly, tears mixing with raindrops as they dribbled down his cheeks. "See what they’ve done to me mother?" he whispered softly. " They’ve filled me up with hate, but not enough…I have to be so full of hate there’s no room left for anything else." He lowered his head back down to his knees, moving it slightly to the side so he could look around him as the rain drenched him through his T-shirt. "Make me numb, mother, make me numb…" he murmured, shutting his eyes tightly.

A sudden scream off in the distance made Rex sit up right suddenly, shocked. A moment passed and the sound faded into oblivion. Rex hugged his legs closer to him and bit his lip. "You’re not there…are you? You can’t hear me…You can’t hear any of us. You’ve gone away. We just dreamed you… You’ve been away too long, mother. We are old now." He shifted uncomfortably in the cold against the brick wall. "Your children are dying…and you can’t hear us."

"Rex!"

Rex looked up suddenly to see a figure round the corner and stare into the alley. It was Throttle. "Rex! There you are! We’ve been looking all over! Shelly’s been worried about you. She asked me to come look for you," the tan Martian male said jogging up to him. He saw the long jagged slash in the boy’s arm, which ran with blood as rain mixed with it. "How did that happen?" he asked kneeling down beside him. Rex shirked away as Throttle reached out to touch his wound. This seemed to startle the older mouse. "Rex," he said softly. "You can trust me. I just want to help you." Rex looked at him slowly, brown eyes filled with hurt and bitterness. "I don’t want you to help me. I just want you to leave me alone." He said looking away quickly, lest he should let Throttle see the tears glistening in his eyes. Throttle paused a moment, sighing and then reached out and gently touched Rex’s dampened hair. "I can’t do that, Rex." He said simply. The young boy looked at him slowly. " And no matter how many times you push me away, I will always stay by your side." He added. Rex looked at him curiously, eyeing him hard, trying to find some hidden meaning in him. Throttle slowly removed his specs, letting down his own defenses so that Rex might let down his. Again he rubbed the boy’s hair and brushed away a tear that was running down his face. "Rex, listen to me. Please." He said. Rex stiffened alittle, situating himself against the wall again. "I’m listening." He said, trying not to show any feeling. Throttle moved over closer to him and sat down beside him. "Rex, you can’t go through life, thinking that one day everyone you meet and love will one day let you down." He said. Rex narrowed his eyes and glanced back down at the cold black top. "Why not?" he grumbled bitterly. "Because…" Throttle said softly. "…If you do…you’ll end up like me."

The words startled Rex, making him look up at him. Throttle looked at him with a strange clarity and honest sadness in his blue eyes.

Those eyes…Rex couldn’t bare to look at them. They hurt too much. They said too much.

He turned away again, shivering, crying softly. Suddenly he felt Throttle drape his jacket around his shoulders, shielding him from the rain. Again Rex stared into those huge blue eyes, which were smiling kindly at him. Finally Rex broke down crying, throwing himself against Throttle’s broad chest. The tan mouse pulled him into his arms and cradled him there. "Shhh, it’s alright son. Go ahead, cry. I’m here. It’s okay. It’s okay…" Throttle murmured, rocking him. After a moment they got to their feet and walked home together, Rex taking shelter under Throttle’s wing.