TURTLES IN THE WOODS

By

ILOVEMIKEY

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are owned by Mirage. I am only borrowing them for the purposes of my story which will not be sold.

Chapter 1: The Call

May, Marie, Anne and Mom were setting in front of the television watching that week's brand new episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when the telephone rang. Mom jumped up to grab it. "Hello."

"Hello. Is this the J. Mitchell residence?"

May looked at Mom and noticed she was rolling her eyes and wearing her 'oh, no, not another telemarketer' expression.

"Yes, it is," she grumbled.

"Is this the head of the household?"

"Yes it is. What do you want?" She sounded just a little miffed.

"Congratulations, ma'am! This is Melody at Mohican Peaceful Valley Campground. You and three other family members have won a two week stay in one of our luxury cabins!"

Mom had heard that line before and after all the information, they would say, 'and all we need from you is a credit card number and a $99 deposit per person,' so she interrupted them, "And how much is this going to cost me?"

There was a slight hesitation on the other end of the line, and then Melody said, "Ma'am, I don't think you understand. This is not some resort scheme. You have honestly won two weeks, totally free, at our campground."

May noticed Mom's face turn white and jumped up to go to her. Just as she got to her Mom's knees buckled. May grabbed her arm and led her to the chair at her desk. Then she leaned down so she could look straight in her eyes and whispered, "Are you O.K?"

Mom didn't even bother to cover the mouthpiece when she said, "I'm not sure."

"Ma'am?" Melody sounded concerned. "Ma'am, are you there?"

Mom cleared her throat but her voice still squeaked as she answered, "I'm sorry. Yes, I'm here. Would you please repeat what you just said?" She reached over and punched the speaker phone button. All three girls gathered around.

"Sure. I said you and three other family members have won a free two week stay at Mohican Peaceful Valley Campground in one of our brand new luxury cabins!"

At that point Mom had to cover her other ear as shouts of "Yahoo!" "Awesome!" "Radical!" and the ever popular, "Cowabunga!" filled the room. Anne, May, and Marie started dancing around the room, all talking at once.

"Excuse me just a moment please," Mom requested. She took the phone off of speaker and pushed the mute button. "Would you three please go outside so I can hear what she is saying," she glared at the girls until they finally listened.

Anne and Marie ran outside, shouting at the top of their lungs. May pulled a pad of paper forward from inside the desk and handed Mom a pen. After that she decided to quietly wait and see what else Mom said.

Mom took a couple of deep, calming breaths. "Is there a preset date we are to come?" she asked.

May watched what Mom was writing. First day Wednesday after 3 p.m. Last day Wednesday before noon.

"All right. That sounds good," Mom said. "Do you have anything online that will tell us more about the cabin and the campground so we know what we need to bring with us? Oh, and are pets allowed?"

Mom had turned the speaker phone back on so May could listen too, and then put her finger in front of her lips to let May know to be very quiet. She nodded.

Melody said, "Yes, pets are allowed for a $50 deposit. Then, as long as they don't do any damage, we will return your deposit within ten days after you leave."

Mom gave May a thumbs up. May silently mouthed, "yes!" and punched her arm into the air.

"As for information about what we have to offer, you can go to our website at (A/N Website not real) You can click on the 'view cabins' link along the left side, and then click on cabin number one. That will be your home away from home for your two week stay."

Mom said, "Thank you so much. May I call you if we have any other questions?"

"Certainly," Melody responded. "You can call any day between 8 and 6. Our number here is 1-800-555-8668." (A/N last four digits for letters TMNT) "Do you know what weeks you will want to come?"

Mom looked at the calendar. "Our schedule is really light the next few weeks. Is the cabin available this coming Wednesday?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are just having the ribbon cutting for our new cabins at our open house this Sunday, so no one has been scheduled to use them yet. Would you like me to put you down for this Wednesday?"

"That sounds perfect! I really appreciate your call, Melody. You have just made our summer! Thank you so much for all of your help."

"You are quite welcome, Jo. Congratulations, again. We'll see you on Wednesday." She clicked off.

Mom put her finger on the button, but didn't move. She was just staring in to space. May carefully removed the phone from her clenched fingers and hung it up. "Mom, are you all right?" May gently shook Mom's shoulder.

Mom shook her head to clear her mind. "What? Oh, yes, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little shell shocked. I mean, we actually won something. And not just anything, something major." She said this so quietly and calmly that May knew she was still in shock.

Right then Anne came up and peered through the door. "Are you off the phone yet?"

"Yes, you two can come in now….if you can behave."

Anne looked at Mom. She knew she didn't sound right so she knelt in front of her. "Mom, is everything all right? We won! Aren't you excited?"

Mom looked at her smiling face and her eyes started to focus. Slowly a grin spread across her face. They all knew when it hit her. Even Mom could not contain her excitement. She jumped up, squeezed all three girls in a huge hug, then started dancing and squealing around the room with them. "We won a vacation! We're going on vacation!" Finally all four of them collapsed onto the couch and into chairs.

After they had caught their breath, Mom said, "Wow! If we are going to leave in four days we need to get a packing list made and get organized. Marie, please get me a big notebook, May, the pen is still by the phone, and Anne, please print our regular packing list off the computer so we can discuss what we need to change." With that she relaxed back in her chair, swiped her hand across her forehead and took in a deep, cleansing breath.

When the girls came back, she started reading over the list, occasionally stopping to say something like, "Oh, my gosh, I can't believe we won!" and "We are going to the woods for two whole weeks!" May pointed out, "Mom, this is what you have always wanted!"

Mom looked up from the list and grinned. "It sure is! I am finally getting my dream vacation! Oh, I just can't wait!"

After they got the list updated, Anne and Marie took copies of the list to start packing what they needed and to see what they needed get done before they could leave. Mom told May she should call Grandpa and Grandma and let them know where they were going. When she was done Mom called the neighbor, Mr. Reed, and asked him to please keep an eye on things and water the plants for her. They always did this for each other when one or the other had to be away for several days.

After she got off the phone, mom looked down at the desk and saw the website written on a piece of paper. 'Oh, we need to check this out,' she thought. She sat down at the computer and typed in the address. The home page opened and there were background sounds of insects chirping, birds singing and water flowing. The total effect was so relaxing she wanted to be there now…. And stay forever.

Finally, she clicked on the view cabins link. A page opened with tiny, less than an inch, photos of seventeen cabins. Under the first group of five was the explanation that these five cabins were brand new luxury cabins, big enough to house a family of six for an extended stay. The next seven were older log cabins and small homes that had been carefully taken apart from old homesteads in the area and moved to the campground. To keep with their historic authenticity, they were heated from a woodstove or fireplace and the water came in through a pump. The last five were efficiency cabins with room outside to set up a tent if the renter wanted to do that. They were just bunkrooms with a bathroom and a porch with a grill on it.

Mom was so nervous her heart was slamming. She pointed the curser at the cabin one photo, closed her eyes and clicked. After a few seconds she peeked with her right eye. What she saw made both eyes open all the way in surprise! This was no ordinary camp in the woods type cabin! It was huge, beautiful, brand new and from the looks of the photo, surrounded by trees. 'Heaven,' she thought. 'I'm going to be in heaven for two weeks.'

She knew she had to share this with the girls, so before she went any further, she shut off the monitor and called them downstairs. "Does anyone want to see what the cabin looks like?" Immediately the sound of elephants stampeding echoed from the stairway. They all shoved each other, trying to get the best view. "Patience, my children. You can all see if you line up behind me. Anne, you stand in the middle, since you are the tallest. May and Marie, left and right. Once they were quiet she turned the monitor back on. There was a collective gasp from behind her.

"Is that it?"

"Is that where we are staying?"

"Are we really staying in that huge cabin?"

All three girls spoke at once. Mom just calmly moved the cursor over the cabin. As the arrow moved the cabin turned. The entire cabin was made of logs. The front was three stories high. Most of it was windows and across the second floor was a long balcony with three glass patio doors opening onto it. Underneath that they could see some higher windows and a door. As Mom moved the mouse they could see a huge stone chimney the whole three stories high. To the back was a porch that opened toward the hill behind the cabin. There was a grill on that porch. At the far end they were all shocked to see a hot tub in the sun with a view of the hills, the forest and the valley below. It looked awesome!

"I'm leaving now," Mom said. "You three can just come and visit me there."

"No way!" they all three shouted.

May continued, "You are not going without us! But I sure am ready for that hot tub and some peace and quiet!" she added after the screeching of a semi's brakes in front of their house finally stopped so they could hear her.

Mom just smiled and clicked on the door by the hot tub. After that there were several still shots of the interior showing a complete kitchen, a bathroom off the hot tub porch, a huge living and dining area, two fireplaces, four bedrooms and two more full bathrooms. And last, but not least, the ground floor had a laundry room and a recreation room complete with a pool table, a large screen TV and a video game system. "This looks like the perfect house. I hope it is a wonderful as it looks in these pictures."

"I can't wait to get there," Marie sighed.

"Me, either," Anne and May replied.

Under the photos was a description which said the grill, charcoal, lighter fluid and matches were provided, each cabin came with plenty of linens for 6 people, as well as all necessary kitchen and cleaning supplies. They recommended guests bring all of their food and condiments, and clothing and equipment to enjoy the area. There was a swimming pool, a fishing pond, riding stables, a putt-putt golf course, twenty-five miles of hiking trails, and an amphitheater where naturalist put on several different programs each week, a nature activity center and a small store for basic supplies.

They all had a hard time keeping their mind on their work the rest of the day until Mom said, "Before we can leave everything has to be clean and put away. I cannot stand coming home to a messy house and Mr. Reed won't want to deal with a mess when he comes over to water the plants. Everyone understand?"

Three resigned faces stared back. Mom just tapped her foot and waited. Finally, May grinned. "Yes, Sensei." She bowed to her mother. They all laughed at her antics, and then Mom gave them each a list of chores to get done. At least they had something to do to keep them busy because it seemed like Wednesday would never get there.

(A/N please R&R thank you)