Wings (TMNT)
By:AAnnR
Chapter 1:
I dug through the dumpster next to McDonalds. There was plenty to satisfy my hunger with. A half eaten cheese burger and a handful of fries are all that I actually managed to salvage out of the waste. The people in the restaurant, who ate, were in a sense, my heroes. Without their lack of appetites then I wouldn't have a very full belly right now, and would probably be huddled up in some dark alley somewhere dying of starvation.
When my hunger was tamed I walked around the building to the road. New York was full of people who wasted their food. If I could eat then I would be licking everything off of my plate with gratitude; but because of the picky eaters people like me wouldn't go hungry very easily. I sighed as I passed by building after building, heading nowhere in particular.
A couple of years ago my life wasn't like this. I lived in a nice apartment with a mother. I went to school, had friends and got to eat until my belly was full. My life was good, but that was before 'he' showed up. One of my Mom's friends loved to set my Mom on blind dated with men that she had met somewhere going to this place of the next.
For a year and a half they were dating. My Mom was completely sure that this man was 'the one.' She went on numerous dates with the guy, and around a year of dating they decided to move in with each other.
We bought a small apartment in close to New York and took root in it. The guy, whose name was Gary, was funny smart, and had a good job, and had been living by himself for about 3 years until we met him. He was well groomed you could say, and could always say the right things to make you smile.
2 years into the relationship is when they got married, she was so happy, and the wedding was beautiful. It was only after my Mom got a job that I really got to know him.
My mother had headed up to her job at Macy's, on the other side of town, and I had planned to sleep in a bit, since it was Saturday. But Gary had other plans for me.
He had slammed into my bedroom, knocking several pictures off the wall, and startling me awake. He then yelled at the top of his lungs. "Get your ass out of bed, before I whip it 'til it bleeds!" He had loomed over me, as I laid there in my bed shaking from fright. I had never been yelled at before like that, and I had scared me senseless. It took me a moment to figure out that he was waiting for a response.
"Y-yesss s-sirr." I managed to stutter out, but not before I had received a slap in my face.
"Get your clothes on and do something before I come back in here or things are going to get really hot between you and me." Then he left, closing the door behind him. I had jumped out of my bed and got my clothes blindly, none of my clothes had matched because my eyes were streaming from tears.
For a whole year this continued, it got worse and worse. He hit me in numerous places. Thousands of bruises decorated my body. I tried to hide most of them, but my mother noticed anyway. So I just started to blame them on stupid mistakes, like falling down stairs, and getting bumped into doors. I hated lying to my mom but she loved him, and I was scared for myself to.
Around a month ago it turned really bad. I didn't pass the butter when he asked for it; I had just flinched when he had said my name. He had beaten me so hard that couldn't move. My mother had found me on the floor unconscious.
She called an ambulance and took me to the hospital. I ended up getting stitches everywhere on my body, and a broken arm. She kept asking me what had happened, at first I kept ignoring her, but she began to cry and demand so I told her.
I put a hand to my cheek as I walked down the streets. My own mother denied me after that, so I ran away. It was the only thing I could think of to live, because next time he might just kill me.
I shook my head clear of those thoughts. I needed to find somewhere to sleep tonight. An alley didn't sound comfortable so I headed to Central Park. It took an hour, but I finally got there. I picked the softest looking tree in the park and climbed it. When I was sure that no one would be able to see me from up there I settled down and drifted off.
Soon I was awake again, my senses heightened. My ears pricked. Goose bumps slowly traveled up my arms and down my back. My eyes tried to adjust to the faint lighting around me. I waited for a while, trying to detect what had wakened me up in the first place.
When nothing happened I slowly climbed down from the tree. Branches scratched me as I went. Dew fell from branches making me wet before my feet touched the ground. I looked around to see if anyone had seen me. Satisfied, I concentrated on getting out of Central Park. I passed trees, lakes, rivers, and signs before making it to the streets of New York.
The world was still in a tight bustle, people going to and from work. I continued walking, making my way though the tightly wedged crowd. Elbows, knees, and purses jammed into me rudely as I passed by them. I made my way out of the working district, and walked to a more secluded area. Quietly, I turned into an alleyway. The alley was rather large and full of garbage cans. I walked to the end of the alley.
The trash can at the back was over flowing and housed the least amount of flies. I dragged one of the black trash bags out. Using my finger nails I ripped open the bag, wafting smells burst from it. Normal people would have gagged and backed away, but I guess I was more than used to bad smells. I dug my way through the bag for something slightly edible. Most of the stuff in there was either covered with mold, or had already spoiled.
Throwing that bag aside I dug another bag out of the can, opened it and continued my search. This time I can out with three partly eaten sandwiches and an unopened bag of potato chips, a rare occurrence. I ate vigorously, savoring every taste of the meager meal. After I was somewhat full I dug through the bag once more and came out with a half empty water bottle. I drank some and set it aside, wanting to save the rest for later. I cleaned up the mess I had made from the two trash bags and threw them away, setting my water bottle aside.
Afterwards I leaned up against the brick wall a sat down. I brought the water to my lips for a moment, drinking slowly. I watched the sky as it turned from a blue golden hue to a light blue then to a dark pinkish orange. After a while I decided that I should get moving, someone was going to come down the alleyway eventually and I didn't want to be seen.
Just I shifted positions to stand up I heard talking from up the alley. Frightened, I pressed myself to the wall, trying to make myself as small as possible. The voices continued to come closer. Soon I was able to distinguish them.
There were two men and a woman. In reaction I made myself even smaller.
"Come one girlie," a one of the men said roughly. "We aren't going to hurt ya."
I heard hard steps, they were coming closer. I could hear their individual breaths.
"Give us the purse and we'll be one our way." The other man said, his voice sounded really deep. I chanced a glance in their direction. They had cornered the woman against the wall. The woman looked frantic. She had thrown the purse onto the ground for the robbers, but they didn't move from their positions. The men started to close in on the poor woman. Trembling, I tried to move back into my previous spot, to block myself from view of the thieves, but I moved to quickly. My foot lost its grip on the ground. I landed on the concrete with a thud, my arms knocked into the trash can beside me.
A hand grabbed me by the hair, making me yelp slightly with pain, and pulled me out into the open. I gritted my teeth in pain. He let go of my hair and lifted me by my shirt.
"Look at what we have here!" The man with the deep voice exclaimed, making it sound like it wasn't at all expected.
"Well, would you look at that," The other man agreed. He was still blocking the other woman's path. "Looks like a poor homeless child!"
"What's your name little boy?" The man that had a hold on me pulled me up to eye level. I refused to meet his eyes. "Are you going to answer me?" The man shook me for a moment. Tears came to my eyes, my head was spinning, and I felt sick.
"Looks like a signer to me. What do you think Mitch?" The other man asked.
"I dunno, but he looks really scared Tom."
"Good," Tom answered, smiling fiercely. "He should be." They both laughed for a moment. Tom moved to towards the purse that the woman had thrown. Tom moved toward the woman as she tried to run, trapping her again. Both of the men snickered at the poor woman.
"What are we going to do with them Tom?"
"Do whatever you want with the runt. I'm going to mess with this one a little more."
Mitch grinned, making his face seem ugly and deformed. A second later I was slammed into the brick wall behind me. Pain shot through my back. Ringing filled my ears as the world became darker. My back seemed like it was on fire. My brain pounded against my head, demanding escape. Before I knew it the man called 'Mitch' grabbed me again and threw me into a garbage can. A metallic taste filled my mouth. It became difficult to tell different sounds and smells apart.
One last throw sent me into a place of darkness and pain.