Requiem for a Mouse by Jamie Wang

best bet.”
    “That’s a lie! Any of you would make a better choice than me.”
    “Then why did we all pick you? We need you, Bolt. That doesn’t change depending on your mood.”
    “I can’t,” he whispered.
    Sasha walked up to him and gripped his shoulders. “Okay Bolt.” She mimicked his volume. “Switch spots with me, you go first.”
    “If I can do it, one of you can probably do it better. I’m not strong like Maverick, or smart like Prince. And for how brave you are, I’m a fucking coward. It’s like God only made me fast to run away!” Despite his best efforts, Bolt couldn’t hold back his tears. He stared at his feet, watching his shame rain down onto the floor.
    “Bolt.” Sasha gave his shoulder a small squeeze. “Grit your teeth.”
    “What?” Before Bolt could look up, he felt Sasha’s fist ram into his cheek. He stumbled into the side of the wall and fell onto the ground.
    “What was that for?” he screamed, his mouth throbbing through every syllable.
    “Nobody talks about my family like that.” Sasha stood over Bolt with a proud smile.
    Bolt winced as he massaged his cheeks. He always knew how ridiculous Sasha was, but sometimes she still managed to surprise him. “You didn’t have to hit me,” he finally said.
    Sasha gave him an outstretched hand. “Yeah I did. If you ever have doubts, I’ll always be here to help you through them. And if you ever start giving into those doubts, you can always count on me to knock some sense into you. So get up off the floor, Bolt.”
     
     
     
     
     

JAKE
     
    Dust coated the room. All the windows held decaying planks of wood in front of them. Only slivers of sunlight made it through. The sunlight did very little to brighten the room. In the corner were two boys nearly passed out and in the middle, a table with Jake and Bryce.
    Jake’s leg shook. His chair rattled like a snare drum. Occasionally, his knee would hit the tabletop in a deep percussive note. The room lacked any color save for a single yellow package with a knife stuck through it. Jake yanked the knife and watched it bleed white powder. He brought the knife up to his nose and snorted the powder off of it.
    “Aghh shit!” he screamed. His chair creaked, complaining about his sporadic movements. “Fuck!” He stood up and sent his chair crashing toward the ground. “I can’t believe that bitch got away!” He slashed the air at the imaginary Mouse in front of him.
    “Careful Jake.” Bryce was also shaking. But unlike Jake, he was at least able to remain seated.
    “I’m not gonna fucking hit anything.” He continued slashing into the air. His left hand stung which only served to anger him more.
    “I mean don’t take too much, The Boss will notice.”
    Jake stabbed his knife into the package once again. “Who the fuck cares. I’m not scared of him. It’s not like any of us has ever met him in person. He’s too much of a wimp.”
    Bryce frowned and scratched his bald head. “He’s willing to go up against The Dragon. Someone like that has to be pretty strong. I can respect that.”
    Thick red lines twisted and intertwined into some strange circle on Bryce’s head. They were painted as if part of some ritual, but Jake had never heard Bryce speak of religion. It was probably a tattoo just to distract from his baldness.
    “Fuck!” Jake snorted another line of powder. His body yanked itself up as if having seizure. He picked up his chair and slammed it back upright. “I know, I know. I’m not that stupid. It’s just that she was mine! I had her!” He fell into his chair.
    “Who?”
    “The fucking Mouse that got away. She was face flat on the dirt and then that red-eyed bitch came along to fuck everything up!” He paused to look at Bryce, “If I ever find her again, she won’t get so lucky. What do you think Number One?”
    “My name’s Abrim.” Number One sat in a corner on the ground with Number Two. His eyes were closed as he pushed a needle into his arm.