by Julie Bihn
Chapter 5: A Gang
"But what if Mittens is back at the tree?" Shadow asked. Gadget had just announced her plans to go back to headquarters and get a vehicle, and maybe some weapons, so they'd have a chance against Fat Cat.
"I don't have time to make a whole new vehicle. That could take a couple hours, if I didn't have the proper supplies."
As they walked down the sidewalk towards the park, Shadow retreated. "Well, can't you just make a car out of a rubber band and a popsicle stick or something?"
Gadget smiled. "You act like that's easy."
"For *you*, it is." Shadow's tone was one of admiration.
Gadget smiled modestly, blushing a little. "I wouldn't go that far..."
They walked on for a little while. Looking ahead, Shadow said, "Oh, you don't want to go this way. I know a shortcut to the park."
"I think I know the way to my own house," Gadget said, cheerily, but with an almost indetectable note of suspicion underlying her statement.
"I know, but this isn't the best neighborhood to be--"
"Then you go on and take your shortcut, but I'm going this way."
Shadow sighed, and looked at the ground. As they continued walking, the area around them quickly changed from a well-kept commercial district to a run down housing development. Half of the buildings were boarded up, and the rest looked like they should be. Even the sidewalk beneath them was cracked, and a few human beggars were sleeping on it. After they travelled a few more feet in the slum, Shadow started to glance around him to both sides, especially the left.
"Is anything wrong?" Gadget asked.
Shadow shook his head a couple times, not taking his eyes off the sides of the sidewalk. Gadget looked ahead too, and saw several mice leaning against a building. Some of them looked sick, and all of them were wearing tattered clothes. One of the mice even had two children, who were trying to amuse each other by making funny faces. Gadget instantly pitied all of them, and didn't notice when one of the mice, one wearing a sad piece of brown cloth like a hood to cover himself, glared at Shadow.
It seemed like all the poor mice spoke at once. "Do you have any change?" they all asked.
"G--golly..." Gadget tried to back away from them. Though she, in fact, didn't have any change--what mouse would want to carry around bulky nickels and dimes?--she still hated to say no.
"Gosh, I mean, I don't really--well--"
"We don't carry any," Shadow interrupted, glaring at the beggars. He turned away from them proudly and walked away. Gadget stared at him for a moment before following.
"I wish we could help them," Gadget sighed.
Shadow almost laughed, looking straight ahead. "*Help* them? Yeah, they need *help* all right--Gadget, what use do starving mice have for money?"
Gadget blinked, surprised. "I--"
"None! Unless you actually leave money to pay for the groceries you steal from the store, and even you don't do that!"
Gadget remained silent, but nodded. She asked, "Then why do they want money?"
Shadow shrugged. "They're just greedy, I guess."
"Are we?" A mouse with brown fur and silvery sunglasses jumped out from behind a stray soda can ahead on the sidewalk. Gadget recognized the red sleeves of his shirt as the same ones that had poked out slightly from under one of the beggar mice's cloaks. The clothes he now revealed were nicer, and almost clean. He spoke angrily: "You want money too! You're no better than us, Shadow, no matter what you think. Just 'cause you're too stuck up to beg, and too scared to shake mice down--"
"Shut up, Lawless!" Shadow shouted loudly.
"And now you're even too scared to rob people's houses. Oh, what are you to do?" The mouse feigned sympathy, smiling from behind his shiny sunglasses. He raised the glasses and eyed Gadget. "Hey, what's with the girl? Like her so much you gave her your jacket?"
Shadow trembled with rage. "No!"
"You never let me wear it..."
"It'd get dirty from just touching you."
Lawless narrowed his eyes, and looked at Gadget. "Hey, honey, you might wanna take that jacket off--it'll give you fleas." Gadget turned her body away from the mouse, who suddenly grabbed the sleeve of the jacket. "Here, I'll help you get it off."
He pulled at the jacket strongly, until Shadow suddenly cuffed Lawless across the face, throwing the mouse back several inches. Lawless glared at Shadow, rubbing his bruised cheek.
"Didn't your mom ever tell you not to hit a guy with glasses?" he asked, motioning at his flashy eyewear. Sarcastically, he went on, "Oh, that's right. You don't have a mom, do you? Well, of course, you *did*, but she doesn't want you."
"Neither does yours!" Gadget noted the hurt in Shadow's voice, though his face and body showed only anger.
"Sure she does," Lawless said calmly. "Unlike the rest of you guys, I ran away from my parents because I got sick of *them*--not the other way around. I chose my freedom. And that what makes me different. That's why I'm the leader--"
"You're lower than any of us, to leave someone who actually cared about you!" Shadow suddenly pounced on Lawless, who threw his sunglasses aside, then gleefully joined the fight.
"Shadow!" shouted Gadget. She stepped near to the fight, trying to intervene, but was soon stopped short. A poor mouse about her size, but wiry, was firmly holding her shoulders.
"What are you tryin' to do, lady? There's a fight going on!" Gadget struggled a little, but obviously, fights were these mice's only form of entertainment, and they wouldn't let her interfere. She had no choice but to watch the brawl, although she was still horrified by it.
Lawless liked to taunt and torment others until they were finally angry enough to throw a punch at him. He was still level-headed, playing the defensive (his strong point) while his opponent was blinded by rage, and, nine times out of ten, Lawless had an easy win, a quick way to show those around him his strength. It was the tenth time that was a problem--when his would-be victim didn't really like to fight, so he fought harder and better when outraged. Shadow was one of these types and, very soon into the brawl, Lawless realized he had made a mistake in picking a fight with him. After a few hits, Shadow had Lawless pinned to the wall.
"Let me go!" Lawless cried, sounding more scared than authoritative. "I'm sorry for what I said--I'm not any better than you--"
Shadow stepped back from Lawless, disgusted. "You're only brave when you're *winning* a fight," he said angrily.
"Then now I'm gonna be brave!" Lawless cried. He whipped out a knife (made out of an Exact-o blade) and slashed at Shadow. Shadow cried out in surprise and jumped behind Gadget (whose captor had let her go as soon as the knife came out). Gadget was now practically frozen with fear, having never seen a knife being used this way before.
"Don't worry, honey, I'm not after you," Lawless smiled, picking up his glasses again. "The jacket, yes, and your 'friend,' but I won't kill *you*."
Gadget stepped back about half a step--the farthest she could get without knocking down Shadow, who seemed to want to stand his ground. Shadow glared at Lawless, then, in a lightning-fast move, he reached into the pocket of his jacket that Gadget was wearing, whipped out the fragment of mirror Gadget had cut herself on earlier, and jumped at Lawless. Gadget gasped, scared for Shadow, but, after less than twenty seconds, Lawless was quite literally pinned to a wooden crate, his shirt collar held to it with the piece of mirror. He was up high enough that his feet dangled helplessly, and he looked rather silly. Shadow slyly handed Lawless the sunglasses he had discarded. The brown mouse put them on, but they did nothing to make him look cool.
Gadget heard laughter all around her. She looked around and saw a couple dozen mice and other rodents, all dirty and poorly dressed. A few of them looked sorry for Lawless, or shook their heads sadly, but most were laughing at, or even mocking, the mouse.
"Hey, way to go, Shadow!" One of the mice slapped him on the back. "'Bout time someone put him in his place!"
"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that!" Lawless shouted, still helpless. The mice all laughed at him. "Shut up!" Lawless cried, almost desperately. The mice continued laughing. Above the din, Lawless shouted, "Shadow, I'm gonna get you!"
Shadow shrugged, smiling. "Go for it." Turning to Gadget, he said, "Come on--let's get out of here." They didn't get too far before the dense crowd prevented them from going further.
"Hey, man, maybe *you* oughtta lead us now!" a female mouse smiled. The rest of the crowd cried out in uncreative shouts of affirmation.
Shadow blushed a little, smiling. He looked down, then up again at the cheerful crowd. His eyes widened, and he suddenly frowned--almost scowled. "What do you guys care?" he asked. "Just because I beat up someone you guys were sick of! None of you guys cared before I did that! Honestly--how many of you even know my *name*?" He started to walk away, and none of the mice blocked his way now. Shadow looked over at the gutter, the area under the sidewalk and the street, accessible only through a dirty grate. The only home so many other poor mice had. It wasn't *his* home now, though. Having no home at all would be better than living there.
Shadow turned back to the other mice, feeling like he had to vent his frustration. "Do something with your lives!" he cried. "Help someone! Read a book! Make a friend! Find a *real* home. Or a family. Anything..." He spun around and walked off. Gadget scurried after him. She glanced at Shadow several times, but he looked straight ahead, silently.
Gadget finally spoke. "Golly, I guess we *should've* taken a different way home..."
"You're just lucky you didn't get your throat slit or something--they'd do that for fun."
"I don't see why they'd--"
"Their lives are pretty miserable. They get their kicks in weird ways..."
"AAAAAAHH! Someone! HELP!" A high-pitched voice cried out from the area where the poor gutter mice were still gathered.
Gadget turned around to go back, but Shadow grabbed her arm. "What are you *doing?*"
"Whoever that is is in trouble," Gadget replied. "I can't let him get hurt."
"You can't help everyone," Shadow said sullenly. But Gadget was already on her way through the crowd.
"Dale!" she exclaimed, seeing the gutter mice's victim. He looked a little beat up; the mice had been throwing pebbles at him. Gadget ran to the chipmunk and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Hey, you're one of those 'Rescue Rangers,' too!" a mouse shouted out. She launched a stone at Gadget, hitting her victim right over her left eye. Gadget looked to see where the rock had been launched from and saw Shadow punch the mouse out cold. Another mouse started a fight with Shadow. Gadget cringed and glanced away; she hated violence. She saw Dale scampering off, away from her, Shadow, and the other mice, and followed him curiously.
"Dale, where are you going?" Gadget asked when they were away from the crowd.
"I'm gettin' away before those crazy mice kill me!" he exclaimed. "Come on." He pulled on Gadget's arm, but she stood still.
"What about Shadow?" she asked.
"You mean that mouse fighting?" Dale's voice was overflowing with disgust.
"He's my friend," Gadget said.
"Gadget, he's one of Fat Cat's helpers!"
"He promised me he'd help me rescue you guys!"
"I don't *want* his help! He'll just turn us in!"
"Fine." Gadget and Dale looked over and saw Shadow right beside them. He had a bleeding scratch on his face and a mark from a bite on his left ear. Both wounds would heal though, and he was otherwise unharmed from his fights. "If you don't want me, I'll *leave*." He turned around and walked off towards the gutter.
"Shadow, wait!" Gadget shouted. He looked back. "Don't go..."
"I'm not working with him!" Dale cried. Glancing at Gadget, almost smugly, the chipmunk said, "You can choose, either him or me."
"Dale! He's been *helping* me..." The chipmunk folded his arms childishly and turned away. Gadget sighed, and turned to the mouse. "Shadow, I--"
"I know." Shadow turned and walked off again.
"Shadow, wait." He stopped but didn't turn around. Gadget slipped out of the black coat. "Your jacket."
"Keep it." The pain in Shadow's voice was audible.
Gadget shook her head, walking over to him. "I know how much it means to you." She placed it in his paws.
Shadow didn't move for a while, then suddenly thrust his fists into the sleeves of the jacket. "Fine," he said angrily. "It was only a symbol of how we'd get your friends back. But I guess now that you've got *Dale*, you don't need *me.* That dimwitted chipmunk's certainly going to be a *lot* more help than I would be." He jammed his fists into his pockets and walked off.
"Shadow!" Gadget cried. This time, the mouse didn't even break his stride.
Dale was glad to see the mouse gone. "Why were you wearing his *jacket*?" he asked.
Gadget didn't answer. She cast one last look at the gutter and the poor creatures who lived there, then walked the other way, towards the park, with Dale close behind her.
*****
Shadow never cried. Not since he had been three years old. That was his first memory. Being wrapped in a black jacket much too big for a three-year-old mouse. Left on the steps of the house of a widow who already had nine children of her own. And he had been bawling. He had known, even then, that he was alone, and that no one cared about him. The widow had practically made him her slave, and no one else in his life had wanted him for anything other than using him, either. That's why he kept running away, and had found himself alone on the streets forever at the age of eight.
He climbed the rope ladder down to the floor of the gutter--to his home, the cold, wet home he probably deserved. The world the mice had made for themselves could be washed away by a heavy rain, as most of the beds and meager personal items belonging to the mice were arranged on a sidewalk a few inches above the water that was always in the gutter, whether it was raining or not. The whole place was musty-smelling and damp--it had rained the night before. It was a wonder more mice hadn't died of disease down there. At least there were some areas that remained dry all the time. The gutter had two of what were almost like stone shelves on the walls, on the far side of the entrance. These stayed dry even when it rained; the water that came in through the grating and onto the other wall, the wall by the grating entrance. Only a record-breaking flood would dampen the shelves. The whole gutter, dry areas and not, was nearly deserted, due to the recent excitement outside. Maybe Lawless was still hanging up there; Shadow hadn't even checked. A good deal of the rodents were nocturnal, yet only a few were sleeping right now. Shadow climbed the almost sturdy ladder made of toothpicks and glue to the lower of the two above-ground platforms and went over to a particular spot against the wall. His spot, even though it was bare. This and his jacket were the only things he owned. That's all he *deserved* to own... At least he had earned his dry spot, through territorial fights. As he reached it, though, he saw a small mouse sleeping there. The mouse woke up and looked at Shadow, terrified.
"Gosh, I'm s--s--sorry! Please don't hurt me!" The mouse coughed, then sniffed. "I'm leaving--"
"Don't worry about it," shrugged Shadow. "Keep it." Shadow cynically noted that the sick mouse would be dead in a day, likely as not, and that someone else would take the spot from him, even if he lived. Silently, he walked over to the edge of the platform and sat down, dangling his legs over the edge.
This moldy, almost empty home was the only one he was worthy of. What had made him think he could do better than stealing for a living? What was the big deal about stealing, anyway? All mice had to do it, just to eat. That's why he was so desperate for money, so he wouldn't have to steal. But now Fat Cat had reneged on the deal. Not that he was surprised; he had been lied to too many times to keep track of. No one liked him and he didn't like anyone. He had thought that, somehow, Gadget was different. But of course she could find no redeeming traits in him; he was nothing more than a dirty mouse who lived in the gutter... Fiercely, he wiped his eyes. What was he doing? Self-pity accomplished nothing except eating up tissues--provided you were rich enough to afford them, which he wasn't. Crying would just get his sleeves wet, then, which he didn't need to do. Of course Gadget would prefer her loyal teammate over a common thief!
Shadow fiercely kicked the platform where he sat with his heel, ignoring the resulting pain that shot up his leg. What was he thinking? He had never deserved any friends--why start now?
He looked wearily around the dismal surroundings. He was so sick of this place, even without all the pathetic thieves he loathed milling about around him.
"Hey, Shadow." Samantha, the chipmunk he had bribed, climbed onto the shelf and sat down next to him.
Shadow edged away. "I can't pay you--he's not paying me!"
"Oh, *really*?" Samantha asked curiously. "That's funny--Fat Cat paid me once I explained to him how I had helped." For effect, she drew out a few gold pieces. Shadow ignored her comment on the outside, but he was really curious--why had Fat Cat paid Samantha but decided to eat the one who had made Samantha do the work? Samantha reached into the top of her dress and pulled a piece of paper out. Handing it to Shadow, she said, "That black cat wanted me to give this to you."
Shadow took the note but waited until Samantha had left to look at it. He turned visibly paler as he read the single sentence on the piece of paper.
'Dale's leading her into a trap.'
He knew they didn't want his help, but he hurled that thought as far away from him as he could. Quickly, he climbed down the toothpick ladder to the gutter floor, then up the rope ladder to the surface. He looked both ways before exiting the gutter, more wary of the other rodents than a bicyclist or motorist who might be travelling too close to the sidewalk. He hurried out of the gutter and noticed that, though Lawless was gone, most of the mice were still outside, talking. Shadow easily snuck past them and set off in a run towards the park.