AN: Okay, this is my first TMNT fanfic. (Technically second, but the first I'll post.) Hate it if you want, but if you like it, you had better tell me or I will delete it. I only keep writing stories if people like it. If you tell me I messed something up, and if it is fixable without destroying my storyline, I will gladly change it. I would like this to be as accurate as possible!
Warnings: This first chapter will start out rather poorly. Sorry. I wasn't sure exactly how to start it; my ideas for the story kind of jumped to the middle and had just a little bit of beginning. I'm also warning you that there is a slightly creepy, rather gross part. Or at least, it's that way to me. Italics mean either TV or other announcements(in quotations) or thoughts.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Turtles, or anything related to them. Or any other stuff you recognize. Only the things you've never seen or hear of belong to me. Like the new character. No more disclaimers, yay!
Randomlass, Madame-Cazone, tell me what you think!
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"Hey, guys!" April and Casey entered the lair, April carrying a stack of pizza boxes for dinner, Casey carrying a round canister on his back. Mikey came running over, jumping up and down as he grabbed the pizza and ran to the table as the other three entered the main room. Don had some oil on his forearms from his latest experiment, and Leo and Raph looked tired from training. It was good to see it was just another day in the lair. Master Splinter entered the room slowly. "Oh, I've got a gift for you, guys. Mostly for Splinter." April took the canister from Casey, handing it to Splinter. "It's from a neighbor." He pulled out a Japanese wall scroll with the words "Family, Honor, Courage" in calligraphy.
"Tell your neighbor we thank her." Splinter slid it back into the container and set it gently on the counter behind them. "Will you join us tonight?" April nodded and sat down, watching with amusement at the different styles the turtles used to eat. Mikey practically inhaled his pizza, Leo was more civilized, Don picked at it for a second before eating it, and Raph and Casey acted like it was some enemy. Splinter waited to eat, watching April. "Who is this neighbor?"
"She's new. I helped her move in a few days ago. She's really nice. She was getting rid of lots of things." Splinter looked back at it. "I guess it was her parents, and she didn't want it anymore. They died recently, that was why she had moved."
"Wait, whose parents died?" Mikey asked through a mouthful of pizza. Don lightly smacked him in the arm for not paying attention.
Splinter rolled his eyes before turning to April. "Tell her we are sorry for her loss." Dinner was suddenly interrupted by an announcement from the TV that Mikey had left on.
"We are sorry for the interruption, but we have disturbing news. Yet another young person has gone missing. This time, it was 12 year old Jennifer Smith. She was last seen on the way home from Spirelli Pizza, wearing a pair of faded jeans, a red t-shirt, and a brown jacket. She in 5'7" and has blond hair and blue eyes. If you have seen her, please contact the police. We will now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Thank you." The announcement had been made while the girls' picture was on screen, giving the audience plenty of time tosee her.
"Geesh, that's the tenth kid this month." Casey rolled his eyes and returned to his pizza.
"Yeah, they are getting more frequent. You guys don't think it could be the Purple Dragons or something, do you?" All April got as a response was some grunts from a few of the turtles. Splinter was deep in thought. April sighed and started to eat her pizza. Yep, it's just another day in the lair.
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It had been two weeks since the announcement of Jennifer Smith's kidnapping. She had been found, along with five other kids who had disappeared, in the basement of a hardware store. After that small recovery, the search had intensified to find the other missing persons. Nobody was having any luck finding them. Splinter even had the turtles trying to find them, but they couldn't either.
The turtles were taking the day off, and April and Casey hanging out with them, when another announcement was made. Raph was about to change the channel because these announcements were getting boring, even the announcers seemed bored to keep saying the same thing, but April grabbed the remote from him, staring at the TV intently.
"We are sorry for the interruption. Another young person has gone missing. A 17 year old girl, black hair, brown eyes, named Artemis Hawkins. She was taken from right outside her own home. She had been wearing a black hooded sweater, white tank top, and black running pants. This makes the forty-seventh young person to be kidnapped since February. The only link between the kidnapped is their age- all the kidnapped have been teenagers. We will now return you to your regular programming. Thank you."
"What's wrong, April?" Don leaned over, resting a hand on her arm as she handed the remote back, still staring blankly at the screen.
"That's my neighbor. The one who I got the scroll from. She's been taken. I…" April leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. I can't believe it. Artemis was always so careful. Leo stood up, followed by the others.
"Don't worry, April, we're going to find them. …We'll find her." Leo placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. We should be patrolling and looking for the kids, anyway. They started out, and Splinter sat down by April, resting a hand on her shoulder where Leo had.
April propped her head up with her hand, thinking back over her brief time with the girl. Artemis had no family, and no friends that April knew of. She was sort of a loner, but April had managed to get her out of her shell. They had ended up hanging out quite a few times, watching chick flicks and eating ice cream, among other girly things. They hadn't had much time together, but they had still become friends.
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Three months, ninety-three missing teenagers. It was now a few days until May, and none of the kids, besides the five with Jennifer Smith, had been found. April was worried about Artemis, and Casey and the turtles were doing all they could to help.
It seemed like they would never be found. Until one night. The turtles were taking a short break, watching from a roof when the cops got a call. "All units. Report to the old Blue Rose warehouse. Medical units are already on their way." The cops in the car were apparently lazy, and called dispatch to ask what it was. Raph and Leo were ready to go, and were trying to drag Donnie away, but he remained to hear the response from the dispatch. He had the feeling that it was important. "The missing persons have been found. Now get there, Parker! It's serious!" That got the cops moving, eventually. Donnie quickly went to get April, to let her know. The guys followed him, all of them wanted to let her know the good news.
The turtles, Casey, and April got to the warehouse at the same time as the cop car they had heard the message from. Donnie glared at them slightly from the shadows. The cops should have gotten there faster. He shook it off and followed his brothers. They snuck in through the back shadows, hiding behind some boxes. Raph was the first to look past the boxes, immediately looking at the ground behind the boxes for some reason. The whole room smelled strongly of metal and some sort of plant, a nut maybe. April was behind them, and all of them turned quickly, holding her back so she couldn't see the rest of the warehouse.
April made sure to keep her voice down so the cops wouldn't find them. "Guys, move. I want to find Artemis." She tried to push her way past, but Leo grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her away. She caught a glance at Mikey, who looked like he was going to be sick, and even Don and Raph were finding it hard to look. Leo pushed April into the arms of Casey, who gripped her tight, staring at the ground.
The sounds of cops and paramedics could be heard coming from the rest of the room. Most of the voices were low, and as some of them came closer, it sounded like they were writing too. Some came right in front of the boxes the turtles were behind. Leo made sure the turtles were quiet. "This is awful. What are you guys going to tell the public?" "Most of the truth, what we'll be able to say on TV. The building will be destroyed as is and it'll probably be made into a memorial. C'mon, we've got to check over by the ladder." The turtles all immediately turned to April, who was sitting silently. She pushed past them before they could stop her, peeking over the boxes. She immediately felt sick, and pushed herself away. All of the teens were there, all right.
The mangled and chopped bodies of the missing teens were lying in a four inch thick pool of their still wet blood. Some hung by shackles and chains from the ceiling, held up by their arms. There were one or two who had makeshift bandages tied around wounds, and quite a few had torn clothing. Splashes of blood coated most of the walls. Many of them were tied up, and more restraint devices lying in the blood as well, proof that the kids had tried to fight back, and obviously lost.
April swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat, glancing at the ground behind the boxes. Thankfully, it was free of blood. The boxes must have kept it away. She turned to the others.
"We didn't want you to see." Leo moved forward, preparing to gently touch her arm to comfort her. His movement was stopped by the sounds of car doors shutting. The paramedics and cops were leaving. "We should go too." He got up and turned to go.
"No. I'm not leaving without Artemis." April was standing too, and staring at the floor. She turned and climbed over the boxes, shuddering visibly as her feet splashed in the blood. "She shouldn't have to be buried under a building. None of them should, but we can't take them all." She clenched her fists and started very slowly walking forward.
The turtles and Casey looked at each other for a bit. "April, wait! We'll help." Casey hopped over the boxes first. The turtles followed, grimacing as their feet squished into the blood. The fact that it was still slightly warm didn't help. They slowly made their way to April and Casey, none daring to look down. Every single one looked upset to be there. Except for Raph, who was trying hard to keep his tough image, the turtles were all pale, shaking, and looked like they were about to be sick.
Don took a shuddering breath. This was disgusting and looked like the work of someone even more evil than the Shredder, but April wanted to find her friend. "Now, we're going to need a distinguishing feature."
April gave him a small smile. "Thanks, guys. Um, …her hair is down to the tops of her thighs." They had sometimes done each other's hair. April had taught Artemis how to french braid. The memory brought a few tears to her eyes, but she brushed them away. The others nodded and spread out to look.
Mikey picked a space that was mostly guys, and was glad. He checked the girls quickly for the right length hair, then pretended to keep looking, staring at the area with his eyes closed. He was glad he hadn't eaten anything yet, or he'd probably be seeing it again. The metallic smell of the blood hit his nostrils, causing him to shudder violently. He wanted out of here. Soon.
Raph was checking the space he had wandered toward, glad that it was higher, so the blood was thinner there. Too much blood outside the body was not good. He forced himself to keep a straight face; he had to be the tough guy. The one who wasn't bothered by blood. The one who could supposedly handle a scene like this. He really wasn't that kind of guy. Inwardly, he was just as freaked out by this as his brothers. He wanted to leave and never look back.
Casey and April were looking together, since April didn't want to be looking alone. Casey was doing most of the looking anyway, so that April didn't have to look as much. She was crying, not wanting to have to be doing this. She wanted to be sitting at home, watching Princess Bride with Artemis, eating five different tubs of ice cream, quoting lines, and swooning over Westley. But they couldn't, because Artemis wasn't home. She was here, in a room with other dead kids, soaked in blood. April kept the bile down, but not the fresh wave of tears.
Leo was trying to keep himself together as he looked over the twisted remains of some kids. This was wrong. The kidnappers had no reason to kill all the kids the way they had. Of course, they had no reason to kidnap the kids, but had done it anyway. Leo stiffened suddenly as a thought crossed his mind. Why hadn't the kidnappers been found, just the 'warehouse of horror'? It didn't make sense. This didn't look like the work of the Shredder or the Purple Dragons. Who could have done it? And why? Why just teens, and why so many? And why keep them here? He shook his head a little, pushing the questions to the back of his mind as he started looking again.
Don was still shaking, visibly. He wasn't entirely sure he could handle this place. It was just so…wrong. He half-slipped for the fifth time, refusing to look down. He didn't want to see what he was walking in. Just the thought of what it might be caused a shiver to run up his spine. He turned to look back at the others, to see how they were doing, and bumped into something. He turned around quickly, then shuddered and turned away. It was one of the people hanging from the ceiling, a girl. He slowly turned back around to look at her, immediately noticing her hair was the right length. "April! I think I found her!" She was hanging so her waist was eye level, and she was coated in a layer of blood. Her head was rolled back, and her legs had been shackled too, and chained to the floor. She had tried to fight back, Don thought, the corner of his mouth twitching up, oddly proud of her for putting up a fight. Don heard the sound of splashing as the others came running over. Don's eyes instinctively followed the chain over to the release, a switch on the wall.
"Artemis?" April got there first, checking the girl quickly. Tears came to her eyes as she realized. "It's her. How do we get her down?"
"Leo, there's a switch on that wall. It should release her." Don quickly undid the foot restraints as Leo ran over there. That's when Don noticed something in the blood. He wasn't sure what it was, but he picked it up and tucked it into a canister on his belt. She started slowly lowering, and Don caught her, holding her bridal style. He was shocked by how light she felt. And by the fact that she was still rather warm…and breathing. I felt her side move against his plastron, I'm sure of it! "I think she's still alive! April, can you check?" He turned to April, immediately seeing the hopeful look on her face. Leo had moved close and was removing the shackles from her hands.
April moved close, checking her pulse, a huge smile coming to her face. "She is! Oh, thank goodness! She's alive!" April was still crying, but at least now it was happy tears. "We've got to get her to a hospital, fast!" She gripped Don by the arm, dragging him toward the exit, Artemis still in his arms. The others followed, all happy that they were able to leave the horrific building. April had taken herself and Casey to the warehouse in her van, and they all piled in, Don still holding Artemis. April let Casey drive, wanting to sit by Don so she could check on Artemis.
Don was holding her close so that he could still feel her breathing. It was getting shallower and he could feel her getting colder. He looked down, immediately whispering to her to stay with them and hang on, all the cliché things you tell people in moments like this. He knew Casey was going as fast as he could, and was probably breaking quite a few laws, all to help a girl none of them had ever met before. She was April's friend, and that meant she had to be saved. He thought back to the building. It was highly unlikely that any of the kids would have been alive, and it must have been a miracle that they had found her when they did. Casey shouted something about getting close to the hospital, and jerked to a stop. Don reluctantly handed the girl off to Casey, who took off toward the hospital with April.
The turtles would wait on top of the hospital, so they would not be seen, but could come in and provide support if needed. Mikey was tugging on Don's arm, so he turned away from the two receding figures and followed his brother. Raph and Leo were waiting in the alley. Leo was standing with arms crossed by a faucet. "We need to get cleaned up before we get onto the roof. We'd leave footprints that would easily be followed. Uh, you especially, Don." Don glanced down at himself. He had a thin coating of blood on his hands feet, and reaching from his chest down to his knees. He shuddered, recalling that most of it was probably Artemis'.
April and Casey burst through the doors of the hospital, running to the desk. "Help us! We've got a girl that was hurt really badly and we need help now!" Everything in the next few minutes was a blur. It was a few hours later, and April and Casey were still sitting in the waiting room. Casey was holding April's hand, and she was on the verge of crying. There were a few other people waiting too, mostly people who looked like they brought patients in as well.
A young doctor passed by, running a hand through his sandy blond hair. He glanced around at all of the people in the waiting room, all with expectant, hopeful looks on their faces. "Who here brought in the girl covered in blood?" April and Casey exchanged glances, then stood up. "Follow me, please. My name is Dr. Monroe." He led them down a long hallway to an elevator, picking up a clipboard on the way. "I need you to fill out as much of this as you can." He handed Casey the clipboard and pressed a button to the top floor. "Would you mind telling me why she was covered in blood?" He gave them a suspicious glance, and April suddenly worried that he thought they had done something to her. That'd get them in trouble. They shouldn't tell the doctor that she was one of the missing kids, or they'd have to explain how they got a hold of her. April had no idea what to do.
"Her name's Carrie. She's always getting' made fun of, on account a' the movie." Casey gave April wink when the doctor wasn't looking. She had to admit, it made the blood make sense.
The doctor nodded, leading them out of the elevator. "This is our EICU. It's for extreme cases of Intensive Care. Carrie is located at the end of the hall. Room E202. We are of the opinion that the best medicine for people is to have family and friends who love them, so this area does not have restricted visiting. You may come and go as you please. All of the machines in the room are hooked up to a central computer, located here in the nurses' office." He motioned toward a small office in the middle of the hall, where a small group of nurses were sitting. A couple of the nurses looked up as they passed, smiling. "If any of the machines deviate from the necessary norm, the central computer is notified, and the nurses come immediately. It's a wonderful system." He stopped at the end of the hall, turning to a room on the right. "Here we are. If you need food, there is a cafeteria one floor down. Any other necessities, such as blankets or anything, you can pick up from the nurses' station." He opened the door for them and motioned them in, closing it behind them and leaving.
April moved to the left side of the bed, staring intently at Artemis. This was almost as bad of a scene to walk in on as the first time they had seen her that night. Artemis had been cleaned up while they were working on her, and she was almost as pale as the sheets she was laying on. April picked up the girl's hand, noticing the bandages around both of her wrists, as well as the tubes hooked up to both. As she looked at the other things hooked to the girl, April figured with horror that none of her vital organs were operating on their own; she had a tube down her throat, feeding her air, and another tube was giving her blood. There were cords hooked up to her chest and head, checking her brainwaves and heart rate.
Casey had moved over to the large window on the right side wall, opening it and looking up. The turtles had each taken a wall, and Mikey was stationed on the wall with the window. He called his brothers and soon they were entering the room through the window. Donnie made it to the bed first, resting a hand on April's shoulder as he looked between the two girls. "Hey, April. How you holdin' up?" She gave a small smile to reassure him she was fine, turning back to Artemis. Leo came over next, standing on the other side of the bed, silent. Raph and Casey came over next, quiet and supportive while keeping up their 'tough-guy' persona. Mikey stood at the end of the bed, staring at the pale girl, slightly pale himself.
They all stayed pretty much on those same spots for an hour, waiting for someone else to say something. Raph and Casey had moved to a couple of chairs in a sitting area, waiting. Mikey hadn't moved, and was still staring at her, but he was thankfully less pale. Don hadn't moved, either, and was now kneeling down by the bed, holding April's hand and watching Artemis. Leo was the one who finally broke the silence, starting with a sad sigh. "April, I know you want to stay and watch over her, but it's late, and you should be heading home." She lifted her head, looking up at the turtle, arms crossed over his chest with a sad expression on his face. It was obvious he was trying to help.
April gave him a soft smile to show she understood, then sighed and stood up. "Alright." Don stood up after her, and the turtles all got ready to leave as well. "But I'm going to get some stuff and I'm coming back tomorrow. And then you'll have to force me out of the room." April had her arms folded defiantly over her chest.
The turtles and Casey shared glances, then they all turned back to her. Leo uncrossed his arms, nodding. "Alright. We'll come as often as possible, to keep both of you company and make sure both of you are doing fine."
"Okay. If you're going to, you might want to get some stuff yourselves. And come disguised, okay?" They nodded and smiled at her before they left. Casey wrapped an arm around April, guiding her out of the room. She glanced back over her shoulder, whispering a goodbye to Artemis.
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AN: Well, I hope you all like it. I know the ending is abrupt, but it was getting pretty long. Sorry. I don't particularly like reading (or writing) stories where one chapter takes too long. Review, please!