Author's Note: My first TMNT fic so please be kind.
Derek Jenson sighed as he made his rounds in the pharmacy. One window faced the dark alley, there were no security cameras inside, only out front and back, and no security system, which Derek thought was basically inviting someone to break in.
Suddenly, he was startled from his thoughts by the sound of the alley window sliding open. The security guard decided to catch them outside. He hurried out to the alley, lifting his flashlight. He heard the window close followed by a whimpering like a small child would make. He turned on the flashlight and nearly screamed. Now staring at him, not five feet away, was the biggest rat he had ever seen.
It was huge, its fur brown with patches of black and white. Derek was certain that it was easily over seven feet long from the nose to the end of the tail, which meant that if it stood up like a person it would be over six feet tall, not counting the extra height the ears would give it. He shuddered at the thought. A rat bigger than he was, and he wasn't tiny, standing at a good five foot ten.
The whimpering came again, and that was when he noticed the wrapped bundle just in front of the rat. A baby! Slowly he reached for his taser. The rat hissed, the fur along its spine standing up, and he froze. At the hiss, the baby began crying, and Derek knew he could do nothing for the child. The rat met his gaze, and he found himself staring at very human looking, red-brown eyes filled with intelligence beyond any rat or animal he had ever seen.
The baby's cries grew louder, so the rat lowered its head and began nuzzling the bundle with its furry snout. To Derek's shock, the child actually began to calm down as the massive rat did this.
Just what kind of creature was this?
The rat lifted its head and glanced at the manhole not far away then back at Derek, as if judging if it could get into the sewers before the human attacked.
"Look, I doubt you can understand me, but I can't let you take this kid. Their parents are probably worried or will be."
The rat seemed to relax a tiny bit and looked as if it was trying to decide something. Then, it stood up, straight and tall like a human. It was, as Derek had guessed, over six feet tall. Now that it was standing, it's build was revealed to be very human-like. More human than rat, actually.
"He is my son."
Derek's jaw dropped. The rat had just talked!
"Y-y-y-y-"
"Please don't scream. We cannot be found."
The security guard forced himself to calm down. The rat spoke with a deep, very serious voice. He wasn't American, his accent made that clear. It was Asian, though Derek couldn't focus on it long enough to place it.
"Who are you?"
The rat picked up his son and rocked him slightly as he seemed to be considering the question.
"I am... Splinter."
"I'm Derek Jenson."
The rat, Splinter, nodded his head in greeting.
"And your son?"
"He does not have a name yet."
Now that he was calm, Derek felt himself relax a little. He could now place Splinter's accent as Japanese, though it wasn't an overly thick one. Somehow he knew that this rat-man wouldn't hurt him without reason.
"Why were you breaking into the pharmacy?"
"I am sorry, but I had no other choice. He is sick beyond what I can handle without proper medicine, and, as you can see, I cannot just walk in and buy some."
Splinter picked up a bag from the shadows.
"Please, tell no one about us."
Derek smiled.
"Who would believe I saw a giant, talking rat? Your secret's safe with me."
"Thank you."
Splinter hurried the manhole, lifted the cover with ease, and disappeared into the sewers. Derek watched all this and remained in the alley for a few minutes, thinking over what had just happened. Life would be hard for Splinter and his son, and Derek felt a pang as he thought about how when he finished work he'd be going home to comfort. Splinter would have to fight and scavenge for everything to keep himself and his son alive. Life truly wasn't fair.
XXXXXXX
Splinter was out on a scavenge run and bumped into a large box under the manhole by the pharmacy. Rubbing his aching nose, he looked into the box and gasped. It was filled with non-perishable foods, water, toys, books, a few pillows, and blankets. He spotted a note and opened it.
Splinter,
Hopefully this will keep you going for a while, at least through winter, they say it's gonna be a bad one this year. Hope your son is doing better.
Derek Jenson
Tears stung his eyes for a moment at the kindness of the security guard. He looked up and smiled.
"Thank you."
End Note: Hope you liked it. Please review.